Electric Church
by RailgunBandicoot
Summary: In a city where gaining superpowers isn't abnormal, the strongest female esper finds a nun in her home, not realizing it will introduce her to a side of the world that's blinded to the public. Meanwhile, a mutated marsupial defends his friends as he faces the underworld of his home. (INDEX 5 POSTED)
1. Introduction

**July 18, 9:47 PM, Academy City, A Certain Iron Railway Bridge**

Night has fallen onto the wonderful futuristic empire known as Academy City. The city's lights that have been activated left a light blue glow on the city streets. Coming up to a railway bridge was a girl around the age of 14.

She'd cut her chestnut brown hair to a short length, almost in the way these heavy metal artists she'd heard about. The girl was also wearing her school uniform in the night; Just a basic tan vest over a white school shirt. The most bizarre piece of her attire were the shorts she wore under her skirt. This was done to make those "Peeping Toms" leave her alone.

Right now, this girl was on a mission. A group of these hot headed punks have scrambled around this part of this district to hunt down some specific guy who failed to screw them over. Due to this guy attempting to save her from something similar a month ago, she knew who this guy was.

Usually from the man hunts this girl saw, the gang of losers would always quit around this time, but this hunt wasn't over for her. She was going to settle things with guy, even if she has to risk the entire night.

Thankfully, she didn't have to look very longer. She saw the guy she was looking for, catching his breath on a bridge's half point. Whenever the girl sees this guy's spiky black hair, she gets fired up with an adrenaline rush. She fought this guy many times since they first met and so far, she lost every single battle.

"What's with you anyway?" the girl spoke to him. "I had the whole situation under control, but you're stupid enough to jump in and play hero only to get screwed over."

The guy heard what this girl had to say about tonight and faced her nervously. "Sorry about that, Bug Zapper. It's just some bad habit I have a hard time avoiding."

From the moment that girl was referred to as "Bug Zapper", she was totally outraged. It's a nickname the guy gave her ever since their first encounter. Maybe it's because of her ability, but now this girl was fed up with the title"Bug Zapper".

"How many times did I keep reminding you to stop calling me that?" she demands respect. "From now on, you call me by my real name. Mikoto Misaka."

"Alright that's fine. See you around." The boy then proceeded back to his school's dormitory, but Mikoto felt even more enraged when he tried to do so.

"Hold on you idiot, I'm not finished with you. We still have the score you know." The guy heard her command and faced her again, this time feeling annoyed.

"Seriously? I've won every single battle we've had over the last few days, but you still don't know when to draw the line. I'm gonna win every time and always will."

The boy was prepared for battle and Mikoto began to calm down for getting her way. "You know what? You make no sense to me. I'm the greatest electromaster and only one of few Level 5s in Academy City, second-ranked to be exact, but some weak 'Average Joe' like you shows up and actually beats me a ton of times. What the hell kind of ability do you have anyway?!"

The guy looks down at his right hand and stares back at Mikoto. "I may not be the luckiest person in the world, but you could say I'm gifted when it comes down to my ability."

Mikoto quickly began to feel confident and grew a cocky little smile on her face. "Obviously the only reason I lost those last times is because I wasn't showing you what my true capabilities are."

Mikoto reached into her skirt pocket and pulls out an arcade token. "Hey, have you ever heard of something called a Railgun?" she asks the guy while glancing at her token.

"A Railgun?" This guy was clueless to what Mikoto meant about the term "Railgun". But he immediately got an expected answer.

"It's a super electro-magnetic gun," Mikoto explained. "It's the logic to fleming's kinetic momentum theory. I use it to launch projectiles with a little extra boost." She then tossed the token in the air with no sweat at all.

"Alright, the time's perfect! Allow me to demonstrate what I'm most known for!"

The token soon started to descend back to Earth and Mikoto reached out her right hand to where she believed the token will come in contact. When the token came to her hand, she flicked it with her index finger and BANG! The token evaporates, also creating a bright laser beam that passes the guy's ear.

"I can launch just about any metal materialized object three times the speed of sound," Mikoto gives her theory behind this wonderful power. "But I prefer to mainly use arcade tokens as my projectiles. They may be small, but they still whip up a powerful punch."

"So that's your trademark finisher, huh?" the boy recaps what he just witnessed. Mikoto noticed he was slightly smiling a bit. "Since you're so hyped up for another fight, I guess I don't really have a choice here. Just strike me at any time."

"Are you asking for a death wish!?" Mikoto snapped again when she heard this guy's dare.

"Not really," he responded. "I'm just giving you a head start."

Now Mikoto was pissed off at this guy's attitude. She generated several volts of electricity in her hand and chucked it at him. The guy didn't even move an inch. He just stood there with that slight smile on his face.

Once the electric volts reached him, he held up his right hand and it actually vanished at his finger tips, leaving no signs of electrocution on his body. For Mikoto, this was no surprise for her. That guy's right hand; it's the reason why she keeps losing to him, and she's now fed up with his mysterious power.

"I don't even know how you block my attacks with just your right hand," Mikoto finally confesses her confusion. "HOW THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THAT!?"

"Well you told me about your Railgun, I guess I'd better tell you about my power to keep it even." he proclaims. "I have no idea what hell it's called, but it grants me the ability to cancel out every known ability with just my right hand. Plus every blow I deliver with it has the exact impact of a wrecking ball. It's almost like my right hand has been blessed and enchanted by God himself."

Mikoto was now left speechless. She didn't know if she should either be angry or frightened at this guy.

"Y-yo-you're lying," Mikoto stuttered, refusing to accept the reality of this scenario. "I checked into the ability data bank and scanned through every ability known to Academy City. Your power doesn't even exist in any student records."

"Well you can say I'm gifted with this power then."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Mikoto now felt maximum frustration taking control of her. Now she's desperate to kick this guy's ass. Mikoto screams as sparks begin to circulate around her entire body. The sparks dangerously grew at a quick pace; So the boy held his right hand in front of his face for protection.

Mikoto's rage has gotten so out of hand that she doesn't even realize she's summoning actual lightning strikes. Most of the strikes have struck into Mikoto herself, increasing her voltage level.

But the small percentage of those other volts struck random locations, sadly for the unfortunate witnesses still outside. After a few minutes, Mikoto finally couldn't go on with this any longer, so she let her electrical currents die out so she could catch her breath.

Once she came back from her relaxation, she realized what she did just now. That huge electrical blast she pulled off caused a major blackout to emerge the entire city. The only light that was bringing some guidance through the night was the full moon.

She also noticed that the boy also disappeared from reality, but not exactly. Mikoto's trained eyes saw him running away from an extremely far distance. Catching up to him wasn't worth it now. It was really late and Mikoto yawned as she checked the time on her phone.

_"One day,"_ she thought. _"One day I will eventually beat him."_ And as the guy vanishes into the city's pure darkness, Mikoto herself leaves the bridge, now progressing back to her residence.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

**Hello people of the FanFic Ultraverse. I am RailgunBandicoot and thanks for reading the little intro to my first story. Obviously this is my rewriting from the first scene of the Index novel/manga/anime/WHATEVER, but done through the perspective of Mikoto instead of Touma.**

**Reading several stories on this site, I asked myself "What would happen if Mikoto Misaka was the one to enter the world of Magic?" This story is basically my alternative Index-Universe if that ever happened.**

**I specifically made everybody's favorite elecromaster the protagonist of this story because she's easily recognizable plus her persona's never a disappointment for me. Sure Touma makes an interesting character in the original timelime, but Mikoto has a more energetic personality.**

**I bet you're all asking "Where the hell does Crash Bandicoot fit into this story!?" Trust me, he's an important character that'll appear later in a future arc.**

**In the next chapter, the Index Arc begins!**

**Until next time, stay tuned, people.**

**~RailgunBandicoot~**


	2. Index I

**July 19, 8:32 AM, District 7, Misaka's Apartment**

Dawn breaks over a new day in Academy City, bringing an endless amount of possibilities for the future advancements of science. But on this particular day, someone from this city will helplessly get caught up in an alternative kind of culture, resulting in a battle for her survival.

Mikoto was just making some finishing touches on her appearance. She inserts a white hairclip into her hair, slips into her uniform's vest, straps on some baggy socks and BOOM! She's ready to conquer the day.

The apartment she lives in was the result of her winning a sweepstakes draw. Mikoto didn't really had any time to study the prize at first. Her best friend and former roommate, Kuroko Shirai pressured her to enter her name, not even knowing that the winner gets an apartment fit for only a single person.

When it was brought to Mikoto that she won the apartment, her other friends were excited for her. Kuroko on the other hand acted like the truth behind the sweepstakes was one those sad dramas flicks on TV. She wanted her relationship with Mikoto to go further than being friends, but Mikoto didn't look at it the same way. So she explained to Kuroko that just because she's moving out of her school's dorms doesn't mean she's leaving her life; She's always going to be around, even if they're no longer roommates.

Even though she felt great about winning a whole apartment, she felt bad about leaving Kuroko behind. but on the bright side she doesn't have to live in fear of a certain heartless woman back at her school's dorms.

But with all that aside, yesterday was also the day that most students took their final exams. Mikoto knew exactly what her day's plans were since last night's encounter.

_"So his right hand can cancel out any ability, huh?"_ she thought about that guy's special power. _"Then I better keep it away when I send a current through him next time."_

The blackout last night left millions of people without power. Mikoto wasn't one of them fortunately. She used her electric abilities to generate energy throughout her apartment.

Suddenly a ringtone interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to reality. The ringing came from her cellphone and she didn't hesitate to answer.

"Hello?" Mikoto picked up the call.

_"Hey Misaka, how are things going with you?"_ The happy and energized girl on the other line was Ruiko Saten, one of the friends Mikoto made recently.

"It's all good Saten, but I should be asking you that. You did go through the affects of the Level Upper after all."

_"Yeah, I didn't know I had it coming to me when I used it, but I'm alright now,"_ Ruiko replied on her status. _"Me and the other users attended a special training course yesterday. Well I guess some urban legends are true in any kind of form."_

"I understand exactly what you mean, but it's great to know you're alright, Saten."

Recently, Mikoto got herself involved in a case which was investigated by JUDGEMENT; a team of students from various schools organized to fight crime like a police force, and ANTI-SKILL; Academy City's version of America's SWAT team.

It was the investigation behind the Level Upper. A song that increases the level of an esper's ability. Everybody that listened to the Level Upper didn't know that they're soon to fall into a coma over a short period of time. Most of the fallen victims were Level 0s before listening. Ruiko helplessly fell under this category. Mikoto and Academy City's authorities fought hard over the last couple of days, but thankfully, the Level Upper's creator was tracked down and arrested, therefore restoring some piece in the student community.

_"Say, we should meet up with Shirai and Uiharu later to celebrate our first day of summer vacation,"_ Ruiko cheerfully processes her idea to Mikoto.

"That doesn't sound too bad. Where do you want us to met at?" Mikoto asks her.

_"I bet you know where,"_ Ruiko hints a clue. _"At that restaurant we always go to."_

"Oh, you mean Joseph's? At what time?"

_"I'm not feeling like rushing today. Just give me a call when you're ready."_

"Sounds good to me. See ya later, Saten." Mikoto then hung up immediately after concluding the call.

_"Crap! That's some serious curveball right there."_ The phone call about that gathering with her friends really screwed up Mikoto's original plans for today. So the Level 5 goes out onto her small balcony to think up a solution around this crisis.

_"That's it! I got it now!"_ Mikoto instantly got the idea for a simple solution, after only being on the balcony for a couple seconds. _"Before and after I'm separated from the girls, I'll hunt down that idiot and finish what I started. It's perfect!"_

Just as Mikoto was about to go back inside, she noticed something on her balcony that looked quite suspicious to her; A white blob. It just laid on the balcony floor showing no reaction to the presence of the powerful electromaster.

Upon closer inspection, Mikoto didn't see a blob anymore. She instead saw a young girl almost about her age, sleeping in a white nun outfit; An odd color for a nun's robe in her perspective. Silverish-blue hair can also be seen peeping out of her nun's hairpiece.

Mikoto was confused on how this girl got here in the first place. She definitely didn't see her when got home last night. She didn't know if this nun was either a parkour expert or an aperture home invader.

Mikoto figured by the time she wakes up, she would get some answers on where her church or home might be located. She picked up the nun in her arms and carried her back inside. It wasn't long before she heard quiet moaning sounds coming from the nun. Mikoto rushed and placed the nun on her bed to make the awakening feel more pleasant for her. The nun opens her eyes and tiredly examined the room.

"Uhh.. Hi." Mikoto nervously greets her. "You were sleeping on my patio so I brought you into my apartment. I just wanna know why and how you got to my patio in the first place."

The nun just stared at her. It was beginning to creep her out a little.

"I'm hungry," the nun finally spoke to her. Mikoto didn't expect someone from a religious culture like this to sneak onto other people's homes just to gulp down a free meal.

"That's it? I'm not so great of a chef so I'll get you something out of the fridge." Mikoto smiled at the nun as she walked over to her fridge. She's still suspicious about what this girl's trying to do, so the Level 5 wasn't going to let her guard down just yet.

"So what do you wanna eat," Mikoto asks as she goes through what's in her fridge.

"It doesn't really matter. As long as it looks delicious though."

"Ah jeez. Spoken like a professional food critic." Mikoto spots some leftovers from a sub she had yesterday and grabbed it to show the hungry nun. "Is this good enough?"

"YES! YES! Subs are always the best!" The electromaster got spooked from the nun's sudden outburst. As she reached the chabudai, the nun started charging at Mikoto.

"OUCH!" Mikoto felt the most painful bite she'd ever experienced. The hand she was holding the sub with was now completely trapped in the nun's mouth. She quickly electrocutes the nun to free her hand. Mikoto looked down at it to see how bad the physical damage was.

The sub was gone, there were teeth marks entirely surrounding her wrist. It wasn't the worst pain, but it sure hurts as hell.

"God damnit! When you're offered food like this, eat it when I let go of it!" Mikoto now had an enragement at this nun over that one assault. She was about to counter again with a quick slap, but she noticed the nun was staring back at her once more, this time with an amazed expression on her face.

"You can actually cast spells with electricity?" the nun cluelessly asked her. "I know magicians can use this type of magic, but I've never thought i would encounter someone like you."

Mikoto's feeling of rage has turned to total confusion. She wasn't even sure that this nun understood how esper abilities even worked. She wasn't also sure that this girl is even a nun at all. Maybe she has a wild imagination causing her to break into insanity.

"Magic? I'm not the kind of person who can create an optical illusion like those big names from Las Vegas. I'm one of the six Level 5's in this city."

"No no no! Those guys don't even know how to use magic at all."

"Of course they don't." Mikoto corrects the nun's statement. "A ton of scientific research went into every illusion known to man."

"You're right. Those phonies don't even belong to any kind of church. If they did, they'd know what spells they can perform in combat situations."

"Look, don't take this the wrong way but I think living with your religious culture might have drove you deep into your little fantasies. Magic just doesn't exist." Mikoto didn't believe what this girl was telling her. "If people can actually cast spells using real magic, then there's 20000 clones of me running around this city."

"Hey, magic does exist and I'm gonna prove it to you the easiest way I can." The nun rose and stood up straight, almost like an ancient statue. "You can summon electricity out of your hands. Do it again, but this time through my robe."

"What!? Are you serious!? I electrocuted you because you almost ate my hand off. If I gave you another dose on purpose, you're being granted a death wish."

"Just shut up and zap me!" the nun commanded.

"Okay, but it's not my fault your heart stops." Mikoto was now worried about this nun's safety, but she saw this girl is 100% confident with risking her own life. Pressured and with no choice, the electromaster placed her good hand on the nun's shoulder and sent an electrical current into her.

Mikoto immediately noticed that something was very wrong when she gave the electrocution. The nun showed no signs of any fatality whatsoever. She just stood there, giving the electromaster a cocky stare. Mikoto was now scared; Thoughts start to float in her head on what's going on.

_"Oh man! She has to be wearing a rubber suit under her clothes, but it doesn't feel like she has one on though."_ she panicky thought. _"She's perfectly reflecting my ability. I thought only that idiot could do something like that. If there's really other people out there that can actually cancel my attacks with magic, does this mean I'm really that powerless?"_ Learning this new theory of magic that's now possible made Mikoto fell to her knees.

"Okay, you're right about magic. You've proved to me it's real," the electromaster sorrows in defeat, but also curious about it too. "So how did you reflect my electrical current anyway?"

"The robe I wear is my walking church," the nun answers Mikoto. The electromaster didn't know how to respond to this. "It protects me from most spells that come at me, and whatever you could do." Both girls laughed over the silly misunderstanding, indicating they can now trust each other. "By the way, my name's Index."

"Mikoto Misaka," the electromaster happily introduces herself too. "Say Index, next time you wanna stop by for a bite, I have a door right there you know."

"I wasn't running along the rooftops because of that."

"You were parkouring on the rooftops?" Mikoto was surprised when Index told her this, But she's eager and curious to know why. "Wait, why were you doing that in the first place?"

"I was trying to escape these other magicians," Index revealed the truth to the electromaster. "They're after the 103,000 grimories I carry around."

"Grimories? What are those exactly?"

"Books that contain all sorts of knowledge on magic."

"Okay, so you carry these grimoire books around but I didn't see anything when I found you. Where do you keep all those books?"

Index specifically pointed at her forehead as an answer"I memorized the grimoires in my mind."

"Oh, so you have Eidetic memory. Right?"

"Exactly!" Index states proudly

"Well at least we're both taught some same theories." Both girls laughed once again, but the fun was cut short when Index got up.

"Thanks for the food Mikoto, but I must be going now." Index attempted to leave the apartment through the front entrance, but Mikoto grabbed her by hand, stopping her before she could make another move.

"Index, Wait! You said these other magicians are hunting you down. Then it's too dangerous for you to wander around alone, especially in a place like Academy City."

"No, it's alright. I'll just get further away from them."

"How will you know where they are if you do that? They'll track you down again eventually." After hearing that her new friend is pray, Mikoto was now worried about Index.

She pauses and stares down at her with the nun's arm in her grasp, but seriously looks back at her green eyes not so soon after. "Please, I want to help you. If you stay with me, I promise I'll protect you from anybody who even dares to try and kill you."

"Are you sure you can take on these magicians with whatever your electro powers are?" Index asks the straight Level 5. "The people you'll be facing aren't what you imagine."

"Yeah, I'm positive!" Mikoto was truly confident with new challenge she accepted. "I dealed with something similar to this not so long ago. Now I'm not afraid of any kind of new opponent. Trust me, Index. You're in good hands."

"Okay, if I'm going to live here from now on, then I'm calling the bed."

"Who the hell said you could take up all that space? That bed's big enough for both of us." Mikoto's words of fact didn't even reach the other girl. Index fell asleep instantly when the electromaster mentioned the bed can be split between them.

_"I guess it makes sense that she's this exhausted," Mikoto thought. "I bet she's been running like this for hours."_

The open balcony door soon got Mikoto's attention. When she closed it, she remembered the plans she made with her friends a few minutes ago. The Level 5 would of asked Index to come along and introduce her to them, but she was asleep before she even had the chance to ask.

_"Index, you deserve this after what you've been through. Rest while you still can."_ Mikoto made some adjustments on the bed to make Index feel more comfortable. And without leaving a single trace of any sounds, she smiles and sneaks out of the residence to let her house guest get some beauty sleep.

* * *

**11:48 AM, District 7, Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant**

After leaving, Mikoto took this opportunity to scan around the 7th District in search of encountering "him" once more for another rematch. She went at it for a few hours, but failed to accomplish this personal operation. Realizing the hours passed by, the electromaster heads to Joseph's to meet with her friends.

The three other girls hadn't even made it when Mikoto reached the destination. So she ordered a table on her own and waited for their arrival. She had plenty of time to think about last night's encounter and the information Index gave her on magic. _"That guy can cancel abilities with just his right hand, and Index can do the same with her walking church,"_ Mikoto thought. _"Does that mean there's other people in the world?"_

"Excuse me. Are you the Railgun?" Mikoto's thoughts were cut off by a cheery female voice. She shifts from her thoughts back to reality to see who's speaking to her. It was a high school student.

Mikoto has absolutely who this chick was, but accidentally noticing her medium bust size made her feel a bit jealous inside. Her hair shines in an unusual lavender hue as she's let it grow down to her hips.

Mikoto couldn't tell what high school in this district has the uniform color a white sailor fuku and a navy blue pleated skirt, which was being worn by this mysterious fan. But the odd long boot/pantyhose combination surprisingly made her legs a lot sexier. Gazing upon her beauty, Mikoto realized she had to say something to this girl.

"Yeah, you're talking to the right person," Mikoto answered the asked question. "I find it a bit weird having my own fans, especially ones older than me." The electromaster was stunned that she said something that offensive to her elder. The confrontation with Index left her brain oozing after what she learned. "Sorry, I'm just going through some brain mush episode right now. So how can I help you?"

Just then, the girl pulls out a clipboard with several papers in it. "I'm the student council president of my school. What I have here is a petition for our school's structural improvement that I've personally constructed over the last couple days. When I spotted you here, I simply thought of a helpful question. Would you care to sign it first? I would be honoured if we got a signature from a Level 5 like yourself. It would really help improve the confidence for my school's students."

"Oh sure. I'll sign it." Mikoto easily agreed with being assistance for this girl. "My opinion doesn't really make a difference. I'm treated the same way like everyone else. It all depends on how you deliver the message." The lavender-haired beauty hands the electromaster a pen and leaves her signature on the empty petition.

"Thanks for your support, Railgun,"

"Hey, just call me Misaka."

The girl then bowed to the Level 5 in respect and left Joseph's through the main entrance, leaving Mikoto by herself once again, but this wouldn't last much longer.

"Misaka! Over here!" Mikoto looked halfway across the restaurant and spotted Ruiko Saten waving her arm while happily approaching the table. The Level 5 could tell this was her from the white flower embedded in her black hair, reaching down halfway down her back.

"Hey, Saten," Mikoto greeted her friend once she reached the table. She then noticed someone missing from Ruiko; Someone who's always been there for the cheerful Level 0. "Where's Uiharu at?"

"Oh right. She and Shirai are investigating another possible terrorist attack," Ruiko gives her explanation.

"Another terrorist attack?" Mikoto was curious of this because she never gotten any word about this news on terrorists in Academy City. "There were other attacks before that one?"

"Yeah, there's been several reported terrorist attacks occurring all over the city since last week. The proof behind them all were either areas that are pierced by ancient greek weapons or sliced clearly in half."

"Does anyone at JUDGEMENT or ANTI-SKILL know who these terrorists are?"

"No one could find any physical evidence on who these terrorists are at the moment. Say, this could all be related to this new urban legend I found."

"Another one? Okay, let me hear how ridiculous this one sounds."

"It's actually quite an interesting read, Misaka." Ruiko pulls out a laptop from her bag and searches the internet and multiple files for this urban legend. She soon finds the article a few minutes later and lets Mikoto read over it.

_"Rumours speculate that there exists a girl who can identify 103,000 different abilities by heart. This girl is believed to be hunted down by two espers, both with religious backgrounds."_ Mikoto stopped reading the article from there because she was a little crept out by the contents this article held. This was exactly what she learned about the world's magic side from Index.

_"Are there other people in Academy City that encountered Index before I did!?"_ Mikoto thought to herself. _"If I tell Saten about the existence of magic, she'll just think I'm paranoid because of the whole Level Upper incident. I'll just keep my mouth shut about it."_

"Welcome, are you girls ready to order?" The electromaster was under a trance so deep, she didn't even notice the polite waitress at the table until those simple words passed through her brain.

"Oh, I'm not really thinking straight today," Mikoto concerns the waitress about her current state. "I'll just take whatever my friend's having."

"Aright then, I guess we'll take the Number 3 dessert then." Mikoto had no idea what she was thinking when she said she'd had the same thing as Ruiko. So she took a quick peek at the menu before handing it to the waitress.

Thankfully, the Number 3 was just one of those large sundaes with the bowl containing the width of a fully cooked turkey. Both of then can clearly finish this special, but if Index was here, she would finish it. When the waitress leaves the two girls, Ruiko finally notices the electromaster being a bit shaky.

"Misaka, I know how you feel," the Level 0 grabs Mikoto's attention. "The Level Upper gave all of us problems, but cheer up. You killed whatever Dr. Kiyama created and saved me and everybody who fell under the Level Upper's control. That's all history now! you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Mikoto smiled after hearing Ruiko's words of wisdom. If she can save thousands of students from a virus infected song, she can do the same with Index. "Saten, thank you. i really needed that reminder." And this triggered Ruiko to smile with her.

* * *

**7:36 PM, District 7, Playland Gau**

The two girls had a wonderful time for their first day of summer vacation, minus the absence of two certain JUDGEMENT officers. Both of them came to the agreement that they would wrap everything up at the local arcade.

"Alright, I'm in the zone!" Mikoto just reached the high score when it came to this boxing simulator. Not to be outdone, Ruiko decides to give it a shot herself.

"Not too shabby, but wait till you see me go at it," the Level 0 critiques the electromaster's performance while slipping on the boxing glove. As the opponent charges toward the screen, Ruiko delivers a right hook to the punching bag and Mikoto was just baffled from the results. This innocent happy-go-lucky Level 0 has beat her high score.

"What the... How did y... Gimme that! I'm going for another round!" Mikoto swipes the boxing glove from the game's current "champion" and prepares herself to beat the high score again. As she begins to insert another token into the arcade cabinet, Ruiko noticed the golden light of a sunset sweeping across the streets outside.

"Hey Misaka, it's almost near student curfew," she warned the Level 5 about the massive time progression.

"CRAP, I FORGOT TO KEEP TRACK OF TIME!" Mikoto literally spazzed out when she heard the phrase "curfew". She didn't even bother to reclaim her wasted token and bolted towards the exit, but she stopped dead in her tracks because she remembered the ridiculously huge appetite Index had when they met this morning. All she knew that this is the best opportunity to ask Ruiko one of the most important features of human life.

"Saten, I have a serious problem," Mikoto prepared herself to tell Ruiko about Index living with her without mentioning magic. "I found out I actually have a new roommate moving into the same apartment as me. We've became good friends once she moved in, but the downside is that we both can't figure out how to serve food on the table. So maybe if you know anything about cooking that-"

"I can teach you some basic recipes? Sure," Ruiko finished the Level 5's request for her.

"Are you used to what happens in the kitchen?"

"It's no problem for me. I babysat my little brother a lot while back, so my parents taught me a few recipes. We could start you off with what I learned from them. When do you wanna start?"

"Tomorrow sounds fine. I gotta run, Saten. See you around."

"Later, Misaka."

And with no time wasted, Mikoto was out of the arcade when Ruiko gave her farewell.

* * *

**7:44 PM, District 7, Misaka's Residence**

The electromaster no longer had the time to hunt down a certain "idiot" again. She must get to her apartment before an ANTI-SKILL officer scowls her breaking student curfew. Well it wasn't really that late, but she didn't want to take some crap from authorities; So sooner is better than never.

Mikoto used her electric ability to achieve an advantage in speed. If there's any metal structure lying around her route, she'll use magnetism to attract herself to the structure in combination with compelling from it once she passes the structure. The results make her blaze through the streets of District 7. By the time she reached the front entrance to her apartment complex, she felt relieved that she'd made it in time.

But the electromaster's victory was short lived. She picked up a scent that she couldn't recognize. It all seemed "unnatural" to her, almost like all the Earth's oxygen has been replaced with a new unidentified gas. It wasn't lethal, but still "unnatural".

Mikoto was confused to why no one on the streets is showing any reaction to the scent. The Level 5 soon found the answer in a shocking instant. There was no indication of any organic life found anywhere in the area. It's almost like she was left behind after a serious evacuation. The thought of the strange "gas" and abandoned city made the area feel more eerie for the Level 5.

Things took a different turn when Mikoto looked from behind. There were several cards scattered all around the complex. _"What's up with the cards?"_ she thought. Then it came to her. _"It must be the magicians that are after Index!"_

The electromaster didn't waste anymore time standing around. She sprints into the lobby and through the upwards staircase because taking the elevator would take up too much time. When she reached the third floor, which held her apartment, Mikoto heard some rumbling sounds from across the hallway.

Now she knows the magicians are here, and that Index's life is hanging by a thread. She runs through the empty hallway to save the nun. But before she reached the door to her apartment, the Level 5 noticed the tip of a spear bursting through the carved wood. _"Damnit! they've already found her!"_ Mikoto thought frustratedly.

Now that she thinks about it, Mikoto has no idea what these magicians looked like, so she doesn't know who she's up against. All she knows is that one of them can manage to throw a spear through her door. Prepared for this mysterious new enemy, Mikoto opens the door into the battlefield that used to be her new home.

* * *

**Oh boy. Looks like our favorite heroine has a fight on her hands. I'm gonna let you know that I'm using this end section to explain what my original plans were for each chapter. And just this once, I want to get some more information clear about what I'm doing with the story.**

**First off, I originally planned to introduce Kuroko & Uiharu in this chapter, but I never really saw how important they could be since this arc is focused around the magic side. So these two will be surfaced in the next arc.**

**Second, some characters in the Index Universe will be replaced with OCs. Unfortunately, Stiyl is one of these characters (He can't fire a spear through a door).**

**Third, these chapters usually take me a month to structure. The only reason why they're being released simultaneously is because I have the first few chapters all structured out. And because I have college work, expect for a hiatus in between new chapters.**

**And lastly, Crash will surface in this story soon. So I'll try to sqeeze in a cameo or two by some other characters from that series.**

**But in the next chapter, Mikoto squares off against a magician who threatens to take Index away from her.**

**Until next time, stay tuned, people.**

**~RailgunBandicoot~**


	3. Index II

**July 19, 7:45 PM, District 7, Misaka's Apartment**

Vandalism... Pure vandalism.

This is what Mikoto saw when she opened the door. Spears and arrows were impaling the walls, floor, everything in her apartment. And on the balcony, the Level 5 spotted a feminine figure; possibly the one responsible for all this. Upon closer inspection to the scene, she noticed a trail of blood leading to the magician.

Mikoto was shocked to see that the one bleeding wasn't the vandal, it was from the girl she's carrying. She grew even more horrified when she realized that the girl with the blood soaked clothes was Index.

The electromaster's emotions have turned to rage. She points her arm at the figure with a token in her hand, ready to fire a railgun at her.

"HEY!" Mikoto screamed out to the magician. "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER YOU PSYCHOPATH!"

The magician turns towards the Level 5 and all thought & confusion occurred to both of them when they identified one another.

"It's you." Mikoto realized that the magician holding Index turns out to be the 'student body president' she encountered earlier today.

"Misaka? This apartment belongs to you?" the girl asks in disbelief. "I thought Tokiwadai students were restricted to choosing between two different dorms for their shelter."

"Wait, Index told me I was going up against magicians. Is this what they're capable of doing? Are you even a student from Academy City? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"If you wish to know, my church granted me permission to study the physics of esper logic, almost like an undercover agent," she explained to the pissed off electromaster. "You know what? I only know who you are, so it's fair that I introduce myself to settle the balance. I am Athena Promachos; a direct descendant from the goddess of warfare herself."

"Your church? What do you mean by that?"

"Index, as well as myself are housed by the Church of Necessary Evil, the 0th parish of the Church of England," Athena explained. "I bet that she already explained to you about the 103,000 grimories and photographic memory she carries. I'm been assigned to bring Index back and erase her memories."

"Then why did you all of this and attack her?"

"Listen Misaka, you've done your part of keeping Index here; but now I'll handle-"

"I WON"T LET YOU TAKE HER AWAY LIKE THIS!" Mikoto didn't even hesitate to let Athena finish this unwanted gratitude.

She fired a railgun at this monstrous girl. At this rate, the magician would've been killed from the railgun's impact, but Mikoto grew speechless from some unexpected results.

The railgun stopped and immediately exploded into a eye-blinding light. This never happened before when she used a railgun. As the light cleared, Athena was now holding an ancient greek shield in her other hand. This clearly wasn't there before the attack. She locates the shield to her side and smiles at the Level 5; almost if like the railgun wasn't even fired at all.

"What do you think? This is a spell known as Athens Armada," Athena explained her use of magic. "I can call upon the deceased souls of Athens' original military forces to come aid me in battle. Although the souls have passed on to the Aether Realm, I can activate several portals strong enough to let their arrows pass through into the Earth realm. They can also provide me with weaponry like what you've seen with this shield."

"H-h-How did you-"

"Please, your railgun wasn't well prepared in this kind of condition. The distance between us two and the diameter of your apartment gave me enough time to react for my defense. I'm trying to make a point here, Misaka. What Index told you was all through her perspective; you don't even know the full story on why I'm here."

"NO! I promised Index I would her protect her from anyone who tries to kill her, AND THAT"S WHAT I'M GONNA DO WITH YOU!"

Athena giggled a bit at Mikoto's little act of courage. "That's really cute of you to defend Index like this. But in this case, I guess I have no choice but to kill you."

The descendant soon placed Index by her feet and thrusted her arms forward. Two piles of black smoke appeared on the wall behind her.

_"Is this what the Aether portals look like?"_ Mikoto thought to herself the question, And she was right. Two spears came out from each of the smoke clouds and hurdled their direction towards the electromaster. Mikoto was lucky enough to dodge both of them, but she didn't say still for long. She charged towards Athena before she could pull off another attack, but got a surprise performance. The goddess descendant ran for the balcony and blindly jumped off the edge like a lemming.

Mikoto followed immediately after Athena made her sacrifice to see how horrible the fall did to her body. The Level 5's eyes were widened in shock when she looked at the ground below. The entire ground level of Academy City was now fogged out by the same black smoke from before.

_"What? She opened a portal on the streets? Then she has no limits to how large she can make these portals."_

"I bet you're wondering where all the civilians are, right?" The electromaster could hear the voice of the magician, but couldn't see her at all.

"Y-you're still alive? WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Right up here, Misaka."

Mikoto looked up and saw Athena sitting on the edge of the apartment's neighboring building, still with that same innocent smile from when this conflict began.

"Do you see this card?" A card was suddenly in Athena's hand as she was about to present another spell to the Level 5. "I'd set up a rune around this complex with these to make sure that Index didn't escape. Once a rune is set, magicians stuck within the casting area will be trapped in a magical barrier with no contact from the outside world; but I don't understand how a Level 5 like you managed to enter this one without any problems. Anyways, the only way to terminate a rune is to either destroy the cards holding the structure or defeat the caster; but I doubt you'll actually succeed.

This chick was literally pissing off Mikoto with every little word she spits out.

"Since you're gonna die anyway, I might as well reveal to you my magic name."

_"Magic name? What the hell is this chick going for?"_ The elecromaster felt like she was a freshman again due to all this knowledge she's gathering on magic usage.

"Bellum931," Athena revealed her magic name. "The goddess who fights in the front line. And by the way, thanks again for your signature."

There was a beaten metal fence standing on the building where Athena stood. Mikoto used magnetism to access the other building; But halfway through the transport, Athena called out something in Greek. Mikoto knew how to speak several languages, but Greek was not one of them; So she didn't know what Athena's planning to do.

Suddenly, the Level 5 heard a whooshing sound from underneath her feet. She looked down below the censored streets and saw a barrage of multiple spears rising from the black fog, all of them aimed right for her. She had to generate a stronger electrical current from her hand to the fence in order to reach her destination much quicker, but she didn't catch a lucky break like the last time. One spear managed to ricochet off Mikoto's right leg, leaving a wound on her thigh as she got to other building.

Mikoto rolled along the concrete which left scrapes and minor cuts on her body. But even though she was badly injured and bleeding from the thigh, the electromaster helped herself up to face Athena. She promised Index that she would protect her, and the Level 5 was now sure as hell she would keep that promise.

"I'm impressed that you can take the pain from an ambush and walk out of it like it's nothing," Athena gave her critique on the Level 5's current actions. "Do you now have any regrets from where you're taking this?"

"Are you kidding? You just caught me off guard, but now I'm wide awake!" Mikoto got an idea from her surroundings that might work successfully. She used magnetism on the fence once more, but this time separating a lonely support pole from its post and gripping it within her hands.

"Tearing the lone pipe from the ground and using it like a club," the goddess descendant overviews Mikoto's start on weaponry."I like it when people like you improvise." Another black gust appeared under Athena's feet and she caught a sword which flew out of the dark smoke. "Now that I wield an xiphos, we're perfectly even for combat."

"Alright then, HERE WE GO!" Mikoto makes the first move. She charges at Athena while preparing to swing with the fence pole. Athena gracefully avoids the impact by jumping over the Level 5 while performing a front flip, concluding this action by landing behind her.

"You know, the strength of a weapon doesn't really matter," Athena teasingly offers her advice. "To me, it's the warrior wielding the weapon that matters."

Mikoto attempts to deliver another swing, but Athena slid under the pole and successfully entered her weak points. She struck a minor slash near the Level 5's ribcage and kicked her in the back. Mikoto immediately threw the pole behind her when the kick absorbed into her body. The pole managed to strike Athena on the left shoulder. The force of impact had the goddess drop the sword and launched her for about three buildings. Mikoto knew that a critical blow like that can break bones, but not kill; So she leaped across the rooftops to finish the job.

After progressing past the first building, the electromaster could hear Athena shouting in Greek again. Now knowing that this is how the goddess descendant commands her troops, Mikoto prepares herself for the next ambush, but she saw it coming in an instant. Thousands of arrows can be seen coming in every direction over the horizon, all of them targeted for the Level 5.

_"Holy shit, is she serious?"_ Mikoto entered a state of panic because she didn't know what to do at this point. It's impossible for a human being to survive an entire armada of arrows in an open area without any protection; but quick thinking gave her a solution. She noticed the building Athena crashed into was another apartment complex with open balconies on the side.

Mikoto continued to glide along the golden-orange rooftops, doing her full potential to avoid the onslaught of spears in between the open gaps. The massive bed of arrows didn't reach her at this time, but were approaching very quickly.

When she made it to her final leap, Mikoto threw a little curveball in her usual technique. She didn't aim at the top, she contracted herself towards the nearest balcony instead. She had to compel a stronger magnetic force because a ring of black smoke quickly appeared around her targeted destination. It's almost like Athena read her mind about this course of action.

Mikoto held back her feet as more spears emitted from the ring. The electromaster managed to out-beat the goddess descendant's attack and kicked the glass door, bursting into the empty apartment, leaving a debris of broken glass shards on the floor. She was fortunate that the homing spears didn't pierce her unlike the wounds she received a few minutes ago.

But Mikoto had no time to catch her breath. Lumps of black smoke leaked off the walls and ceiling, forcing her to keep moving. Barging into the abandoned hallway, it's exactly like what she'd seen in the other room. This certain adrenaline rush is what Mikoto needed to continue onward. She blazed through the smoky corridor, dodging past most of the arrows & spears that came at her and climbs the first open staircase to enter the rooftops once again.

* * *

**7:56 PM, District 7, Unknown Apartment Rooftop**

Her plan was a success! The arrows that blinded the sunset sky were now just an endless sea of sticks in the ground; And Athena, who surprisingly survived the arrows, was struggling to stand while another bronze shield was in her grasp. Both the girls were scarred, unstable, and heavily breathing at this point.

"I don't understand," Athena finally breaks the silence. "You're the one out of 1000 that can match up to my X-factor of battlefield knowledge."

"So knowing is half the battle then." Mikoto can now see the fear Athena's got in her eyes, possibly hinting that her opponent is about to take this battle in a much more serious tone.

"You're quite the rival. that rarely ever happens to me," Athena admits her impression to the Level 5's tactics. "But I'd never met someone who's lucky enough to survive this spell."

That's when Mikoto noticed a bunch of cards forming a giant circle in front of her. She prepares for the worst as Athena did another Greek chant. This time instead of black smoke, the space inside the circle transformed into a hole beaming light from the other side. Athena ends the chant and something came out from the highly-lit hole. Mikoto couldn't see it at first, but she knows it's ridiculously huge.

"This beast is the symbol of pride and courage," Athena begins identifying the figure. "All those who failed to defeat me were demolished under it's claws. I Introduce to you the guardian of Athens, Fortitudo!"

The light fades into nothing and Mikoto was now able to see what Fortitudo was supposed to be. The once colossal shadow was now a giant owl armed with the most evil looking armor she'd ever seen. The armour set was a mixture between ancient Greece and medieval Europe. The owl has its Greek helmet and medieval plate protection, but the most fierce part of the whole set was the sabatons it wore on its claws; which looked more like bladed gauntlets rather than a pair of sabatons.

Fortitudo unleashes a loud booming hoot and quickly soars his direction towards the electromaster. From the surprising speed the owl was traveling at, Mikoto had no time to counter his attack; So all the best she could do was dodge everything.

"It's pointless to go on," Athena brings the Level 5 attention to her. "You'll just tire yourself out sooner or later."

"Don't think I'll surrender Index that easily, I still got some fight left inside me." Some sparks started to glitter around Mikoto's body. With a giant armored owl thrown into the ring, there's no possibility to back down now; She has to finish this, even if she dies trying.

The Level 5 fires multiple electric bolts at Athena, but she stopped all of them with her shield. She summons another xiphos from the black smoke and charges at Mikoto, only to get a roundhouse kick to the head. With a mixture of blood and saliva running down her lips, Athena struggles to stand up.

"I didn't think the descendants of Greek gods would be this easy to take out," Mikoto overviews the disappointing finisher in a serious manner. "You know, I was expecting more fro-"

Just then, Mikoto felt the horrible pressure of metal claws crushing her. She couldn't move her arms or legs, but was being lifted off the ground below her. She totally forgot about the presence of a certain giant owl known as Fortitudo. Mikoto tries to electrocute the oversized owl, but nothing happened the the electromaster's surprise.

_"Oh god, his armor's a walking church too?!"_ She panicky thought. _"What the hell's with all these people who can cancel esper abilities?"_

Fortitudo glided through the sun-peaking sky, almost at the same speed as any modern vehicle. Mikoto kept attempting to resist the owl's grasp, but she couldn't catch a break. Suddenly hope was given to the Level 5 as Fortitudo drops her from the metal claws of his.

But Mikoto instantly realized that this wasn't a chance of relief, it would be a couple quick breaths before she would meet her unfortunate demise. From the speed she was traveling at before Fortitudo dropped her, and combined with the physics of a human falling from this great of height, the Level 5 will die if she's smacked against any solid surface.

With only a few seconds left, Mikoto scanned the fast-moving area like a nervous aperturely, but was grateful to see her fate coming a mile away.

_"A wind turbine! Perfect!"_

Athena took advantage of this occupation to help herself up from her injuries.

"I did it," she thought proudly. "I actually defeated Academy City's second-ranked Level 5."

As the sound of impact echoes through her ears, Athena could see the dark shadow of Fortitudo being reflected from behind. And the goddess descendant turned around to see the oversized owl sitting on the ledge in front of her.

"So you disposed the Railgun, I see?" Athena points out the absence of the Level 5. She was proud that Fortitudo finished things where she failed. But from what she learned about the other Level 5s, Athena was uncertain if Mikoto was truly dead. "I appreciate your support with this assignment, but you're still needed. Guide me to where the Railgun has landed, but don't attack until I give you the restricted command."

So Fortitudo jumped off the ledge and flew off into the distance with Athena following behind him. A couple leaps of faith later, the goddess descendant finds the owl on another ledge, starring down a couple stories below. Athena looked down in the same direction and quickly spots the destruction. This apartment had patios along the side, but in between two was a massive hole in the wall where a middle patio used to be. It's clear to her that this is where the Level 5 slammed into.

Just to make sure that the deed was done, Athena summoned several smoke clouds on the opposite building and cramped a dozen spears into the dark hole. As she was about to make the leap for a better investigation, the unexpected occured. The spears flew out of the hole and pinned Athena to the other building, completely immobilizing her. But the outcome got even worse when she saw some of the spears stab Fortitudo in the wings, resulting the owl to helplessly descend into black fog and disappear from her perspective. Athena's heart started pounding when the shadow of a certain electromaster emerged from the darkness and stopped at the huge gap. To her confusion, Mikoto was still alive.

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I understand your theory with this advantage," Athena panically explained. "You've affected the the magnetic fields of the spears' metal tips, therefore allowing you to control them with your concentration. And you've noticed Fortitudo's weak point was his wings so you went for it. No one has ever thought of doing that; you actually pierced my most prized warrior, but I don't understand how you survived his drop."

"It's simple," Mikoto gives detail to her miracle. "I seized control from the magnetic field of that nearby wind generator to help slow down my velocity. Now I've had enough of your crap. If you're that desperate to kill me, then I'm not afraid to waste your sick ass right now."

Bleeding, scratched, wounded, and aching everywhere, Mikoto was furious and had enough of this chick's crap. Athena was suddenly in tears, but she didn't give a damn and flicked a second token upwards.

"Misaka, I know you're defending Index from me, but your encounter with her might possibly be your biggest regret," Athena begged to bring the Level 5 to her senses. "You don't know what we had to go through a few days ago, and you have no idea who else you're up against! Please! If Index's memories aren't esased with the next 9 days-"

"SHUT UP!"

The token comes down and the railgun traveled swiftly between the two building and this time, it continued to its target. Athena quickly merges into the building, and a massive hole is left behind from the railgun's impact.

This was the iconic finisher of Mikoto Misaka, the shock princess, the ace of Tokiwadai, the third ranked Level 5 of Academy City.

Mikoto took a deep breath and realized that strange odor from before had somehow died out as normal oxygen entered through her nose.

_"Holy crap, did I beat her?"_ the Level 5 thought. She looks down at the streets to make sure.

Yes! The black smoke starting to clear up, revealing the urban pavement of Academy City once again. She has won! She actually defeated a magician!

Mikoto was relieved that this fight was finally over, but this wasn't a time for celebrations. She must find Index and get her some medical care immediately. She prepares to begin her search, but didn't have to when she spots the bleeding nun lying on the floor. From the easy hint of the arrows all over the place, Mikoto was back in her apartment. She comes to Index's aid and feels her pulse.

"Thank god she isn't dead." It was miracle that Index still had a pulse, but she was unconscious from the lethal blows she took from Athena. It wasn't safe in the apartment anymore, so Mikoto held the nun in her arms and escaped the rubbished place.

* * *

**8:12 PM District 7**

Touma Kamijou, the spiky-haired boy Mikoto has been searching for was walking back to his dorm after going through a hellish day of doing extra credit to improve his already bad grade. All he wanted to do now was to get some rest. His walk was interrupted by a giant group of people surrounding two apartment buildings, with JUDGEMENT, ANTI-SKILL and paramedics being among them. He couldn't see the commotion that was happening inside the circle, until looking up he saw destructed holes carved in both buildings.

"There's never a dull moment in this city," he says before walking away from the structural disaster.

* * *

**The first conflict between science & magic has come and gone. And honestly, I feel proud of how my first battle sequence turned out. **

**There wasn't really anything with scrapped ideas, this is pretty much my original vision was for this chapter.**

**So let me explain a bit about Athena. Her full name is a reference to Athena Promachos, an actual bronze statue sculpted by Phidias.**

**So in the next chapter, Mikoto's duty of protecting Index has now turned into a struggle for survival now that her apartment's destroyed. Where can she go? Who can she turn to now? How much longer can she keep this up?**

**Until next time, stay tuned, people.**

**~RailgunBandicoot~**


	4. Index III

**July 19, 8:04 PM, District 7, Alleyway**

Mikoto carries Index into a dark alleyway; Usually criminals or squatters are the ones inhabiting these areas, but thankfully this one was 100% abandoned.

The heavy weight of Index is starting to put the stress on Mikoto's arms; so she sat down on the dirty concrete with the nun. This gave Mikoto time to over think what Athena said to her before blasting a railgun at her.

_"So I know Athena's a threat, but I got no idea who the other magician is; I better keep my guard up,"_ she thought. _"And what does she mean that something will happen to Index in 9 days; Mabye I'd should of let her finish back there."_ By staring down at the unconscious Index, she was once again reminded of the wounds which require proper medical care.

_"How the hell am I supposed to help her?! I can't take her to a hospital, they'll assume I did this to her. Plus the forces of JUDGEMENT & ANTI-SKILL are out of the question; nobody's gonna believe what I have to say about magic! Damnit, I trust anyone!"_

Then suddenly fate came in. A guardian angel has arrived in the form of her phone's ringtone. Mikoto takes out her phone to see that the caller was Ruiko.

_"Saten may be just a Level 0, but I can at least count on her till this is all over."_ Mikoto answers the call and is greeted by Ruiko's joyful charm.

_"Hey Misaka, whatcha doin'?"_

"Not so good," Mikoto replies. "I almost got killed after I left you at the arcade."

_"Huh? What happened?"_

"Well you know that urban legend you'd showed me this afternoon? It's real, and now I'm caught up in the middle of it."

_"Wait, I wanna take a wild guess of what happened. You met the girl who knows the 103,000 abilities and now you're protecting her from those religious espers."_

"You're half right. That article isn't providing the real truth," Mikoto corrects her friend's curiosity. "The two religious folks aren't espers, they're something far more than you can imagine. And that young girl doesn't know 103,000 abilities, they're actually grimoires."

_"Grimoires? As in textbooks on magic? Misaka, are you saying that magic does exist?"_

"I was gonna tell you this today, but I thought you'd think I was crazy. Anyway, I got her safely out of a fight from one of them, but now my apartment's trashed, and she's covered in slashes; Can I count on you to not help me, but for her?"

_"Okay, should we take her to a hospital?"_

"No, I don't anyone will believe us. it's best to consider that we're on our own."

_"Well I know some simple medical skills. Will that be enough?"_

"I think that could work for a while. I'm coming over to your place ASAP."

_"Alright see ya then."_

Mikoto hangs up and puts her phone back in her pocket. She suddenly felt like something was off, almost if someone's watching her.

She examined the alley and didn't see a third person. Either being her own instincts or just a hallucination from that last battle, Mikoto wasn't even sure if this place was safe for Index; So she found a good grip on the nun and escaped the alleyway with no hesitation.

But her instincts were right; Someone is watching over her. This mysterious figure wasn't Athena, but she's working along side the goddess descendant for this assignment. This was the other magician Mikoto is up against.

* * *

**8:08 PM, District 7, Saten's Residence**

Two sleeping bags were laid beside each other and a basic first-aid kit was out on the counter. Ruiko had everything ready for her friend's expected arrival.

"So magic exists," Ruiko thought as she scanned the article once more. "Then it must mean that there's a lot more than espers in the world."

Suddenly, the door buzzer went off; She didn't waste any more time and let Mikoto enter her dorm with the nun in her arms.

"Thanks for letting us stay here, Saten," Mikoto pledged her gratitude. As the electromaster bows to her, Ruiko carefully examined the nun's body for injuries.

"She's not looking fine, and she's so adorable too. What's her name by the way?"

"Her name's Index," Mikoto answers.

"Oh I get it! It's because she memorized all those grimoires. Now who the hell did this to you two anyway?" Ruiko curiously asked from looking at her friend's wounds.

As the Level 0 took off Index's robe and began to wrap her in bandages, Mikoto summarized to her about everything that occurred today, including the unfortunate encounter against Athena. She had wrapped up her story by the time Ruiko was treating her wounds.

"Before I launched a railgun on Athena, she said something will happen to Index in 9 days," Mikoto concludes the events.

"What's gonna happen to her by then?"

"I don't know. I was too pissed off to let her finish." Ruiko stops for a moment to check on Index who's been placed on the bed.

"I really do suggest we should get Shirai and Uiharu to help us on this one."

"No, they won't believe any of that, especially Kuroko," Mikoto predicts a possible theory if they did so.

"She'll only lecture us about how magic doesn't exist and arrest us afterwards if she discovers Index like this. Besides, those two magicians would just kill them if they did get involved. My conclusion, we can't tell anybody about this; The defense for Index is in our hands only. We can possibly die from this, but at least she puts her trust in us."

"Hey Misaka," Ruiko encourages her friend. "You've saved me and a few thousand others from the Level Upper. This might be a great solution for me to repay the favor, ya know."

"So you're serious about this as much as I am?"

"If you're gonna jump out of the pan, then I'll go into the fire with you. By the way, you're all wrapped up and good to go."

Mikoto didn't understand what she meant, but she instantly remembered Ruiko was just wrapping bandages over her wounds. She laughed a bit at how she forgot about it and Ruiko followed along with her.

* * *

**July 25, 12:16 PM, District 7, Saten's Residence**

Six days have passed since the events of the 19th; And after a long waited coma, Index finally regains consciousness. She opens her big jade-tinted eyes and rises from the bed she laid upon.

But this wasn't the same nun Mikoto met these past days ago; This girl's personality has completely altered from the last time she was awake.

Index wanders the territory, only to wind up in a small kitchen. Lucky for her there wasn't anyone around to prevent her from raiding out the fridge, until she saw Ruiko preparing lunch on the counter.

"Hey there, sleepy head," She greets Index, noticing the nun standing beside her. "It's great to finally talk to you after long last."

"I don't know who you are, but you have food so I trust you." Index spoke in a loud and robotic tone. "Who are you?"

"Ruiko Saten. I'm a friend of Misaka's." Ruiko unsurely introduced herself. "Misaka's just washing up in the shower."

As Ruiko carries the gourmet lunch to the chabudai, Index looked down at herself to realize she's wrapped in bandages.

"You're really thankful to have Misaka on your side. She holds the title of a Level 5 and she goes to the most elite middle school Academy City has to offer, but she doesn't act like no huge celebrity and has a pure heart of gold for the ones she blesses. It would take some serious brutality to befriend any of the other Level 5s out there."

"Index?!" Mikoto came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a tied bathrobe. She was surprised and happy to see Index awakened; and for that, the electromaster rushed over to hug her as tears ran down her face like a leaking sewage pipe.

"Thank god you're still alive. I was so worried about you, Index," Mikoto mumbled to the nun through her soft sobbing.

* * *

**Unknown Apartment Complex Rooftop**

Meanwhile on the peaks of the urban landscapes, Athena was scanning the area for someone. The last six days gave her enough time to recover in the nearest hospital after Mikoto penetrated her abdominal muscles with the railgun. She still has to wear bandages around her stomach, but her injury will fully recover within the following week.

Not so long after, Athena finally discovers the one who she seeks, gazing down at the busy traffic at ground level; It was her partner, the second magician involved with the responsibilities of erasing Index's memories.

She was a young woman, only a few years older than Athena. Her dark purple hair was tied up into a long ponytail by a single white ribbon. She wore a basic white t-shirt tied around the back, and some jeans & cowboy boots as her choice of wardrobe.

The young woman's beauty and "perfect proportions" were outstanding and made all the guys wonder if she's really a supermodel, but the jeans she wore had some better days; The right leg's bottom has been cut into a pattern in order to match the one on the boots since the left leg didn't even exist. It was torn off up to the thigh, exposing her actual leg.

Two belts were wrapped around her waistline, holding up the case of a katana which the young woman wielded. Staring down at the streets with the feeling of guilt in her heart, she fails to notice Athena approaching her.

"Did you find her?" Athena finally grabs her attention.

"I found Index in the window of that complex," the katana wielder responds, specifically pointing at a window of a students' dormitory. Athena closely examines what lies beyond the window and spots the nun being held and loved by a certain middle school electromaster.

Seeing this emotional sight made her regret having that battle with Mikoto a few days ago. Since the two had to wait and watch for another opportunity to take action, she sits in a fetal position right next to the older woman.

"I feel terrible about what I did," Athena starts up a conversation on the same topic of Index. "You and Index were reliably bonded before this whole hijinks began, now look what happened. She runs away every time we convince we're not her enemies, I was forced to lure arrows at her just to keep her still, and now Tokiwadai's Railgun got caught up in all this and is guarding her with her life."

"That girl, she's this city's most strongest esper?"

"Close; Mikoto Misaka's the second-ranked Level 5, but if by any chance it was Academy City's strongest Level 5, that would drastically change our chances in succeeding."

The older woman stares at Athena with a look of misunderstanding on her face.

"The theory of espers are a lot different from what you're familiar with," Athena begins to explain.

"Millions of students come from all across the globe to become espers; Unlike us, they don't use magic or belong to any specific church, their abilities are born within their blood. Once an esper discovers the ability they're capable of, the strength of it is scaled on a set of numbers, with 5 being the maximum boundary."

"So what are Mikoto Misaka's abilities?" The young woman asks. "It doesn't really make sense that somebody this young could defeat Fortitudo single-handedly."

"Don't let her youth fool you; She's actually the strongest electromaster this city has ever witnessed. She can even fire a railgun with any metal object she desires to use. I tied to warn Misaka of the consequences for holding Index's memories, but she impaled me with a railgun before I could explain anything to her."

"Looks like you've already went through enough. I'll try to get some sense into her."

"That would be the best solution; I'm in no condition to fight anyway, so good luck to you." Athena slowly stood up from her fetal position and reached into her pocket for something.

"A little advice in battlefield strategy; Don't come to her, let her come to you. We don't wanna have Index in more scars or even worse; Killing the innocent Level 0 inside the dorm. I had no idea that other apartment belonged to Misaka, so that was a bit of a game changer for me."

Athena pulls out a map of Academy City and hands it to the katana wielder. The map had several circled marks labeled in many different locations.

"So these are all your best bets for battlefields?"

Athena nodded. "These are certain locations where you won't bother anybody; If I were you, I would select an area with a wide open field with limited to no structures. We've already brought enough attention to the city's authorities."

The young woman scanned the map a second time to find somewhere she can claim "the one". During that, Athena looked down at the dorm window in anguish.

_"Damnit, Misaka! If you're not gonna listen to me, you should as least pay attention to what Kanzaki has to say."_

* * *

**8:42 PM, Saten's Residence**

"Hey guys, Check this out!" The girls had just finished eating supper, and Index finished all the remaining leftovers. "I did some research and it turns out that Index can do a lot more than remember a bunch of grimoires."

"I can, but the computers don't show the truth behind them!" Ever since Index awakened from her coma, she's beginning to act a lot more unnatural. She showed no signs of any emotions, almost if like someone drained them from her like a lemon, and the tone of her voice grew loud; This mysterious behaviour has been upsetting the Level 5, keeping her worried in suspense with Index's current condition.

"Index, are you feeling okay?" Mikoto worriedly asks the nun.

"My awakening has been activated!" Neither girls didn't know what to make of this statement.

"Uh... is that good?" Suddenly, all the confusion & mystery was shattered by the sound of a ringtone; Mikoto digs into her pocket to retrieve her cellphone blasting out a certain tune. She considered it might be Kuroko because of the gap of days they've been separated, but that wasn't the case.

The caller's name was anonymous when Mikoto checked over the caller preview. She didn't know who to expect on the other end. _"Is it Dr. Kiyama? Athena? The other magician? Or is it just that idiot again?"_ All thoughts of this anonymous caller is beginning to make the Level 5 feel queasy, but she'll never know if she ignores the cry of her ringtone. Forced by the pressure and her instincts, Mikoto answers the call.

"Alright. Whoever who are, speak up!"

_"So you are willing to listen to me,"_ the voice of a serious young woman began speaking. Mikoto had never heard this voice before in her life, so she remained on high-alert due to her tone. _"I've been watching you ever since Athena's loss, and from the looks of Index's condition, she doesn't have much time left."_

Just those words made her realize this is the second magician she's speaking to. "So all this time you've known where we are and did nothing about it? But how did you even get my number?!"

_"That's not important, but it's urgent you bring Index to me; I'll be waiting in the 21st District."_

"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME LOCKED UP IN A CELL FOR BREAKING STUDENT CURFEW?! WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!"

_"I rather tell you my name when we meet in person."_ Then the woman hung up on her. This one call fuelled Mikoto's rage once again, but this time she's in control of her anger.

"What are you gonna do now, Misaka?" Ruiko asks the electromaster.

"I'm gonna go find that other bitch and make her regret messing with me. She knows more about Index more than we do and I will make her talk!" When Mikoto finished her courageous qoute, she took a short time to think how she can reach the 21st District without bringing attention to authorities.

"Saten, do you have any clothes I could borrow? I know we're putting our lives on the line for Index's sake, but I can't risk getting expelled from Tokiwadai."

"You know what, you can keep whatever you wear. I have a ton of outfits for you to browse through," Ruiko proclaims, leading her friend to her wardrobe.

* * *

**8:51 PM, Saten's Residence**

A couple minutes later, Mikoto made her decision and was changing in the bathroom. Ruiko was doing some more research about Index through a website dedicated to urban legends in Academy City, that is until she notices the nun taking random objects and placing them in a circle on her chabudai.

"Whatcha doin' there, Index?" She curiously asks.

"I'm gathering the necessary tools required for a healing ritual!" Index exclaims.

"I highly doubt Misaka will stick around for that. If I know her, she'll just storm out of here as soon as she's done."

With her conclusion of the future, Ruiko goes back to laptop to do more research. She clicks on a new interesting headline through the search engine and an unusual sound-effect came through when it happened. She then realized it wasn't her laptop, Mikoto was out of the bathroom with her chosen design.

Short jeans with a black t-shirt and baseball cap. It's something that came from an American designer and Ruiko agreed in her mind that it looked better on Tokiwadai's Level 5 than any of those child models.

"Saten, I'm counting on you to keep an eye on Index while I'm gone," Mikoto proclaims at the front entrance. "If anybody from the Church of Necessarius comes for her, just take her and get the hell out of here. Give me a call if that ever happens, alright?"

"Got it, Misaka." And just like the prediction made, the Electromaster left the dorm with pride and courage in her soul.

"See Index, told ya she wouldn't stick around." Ruiko began reading the article she shortly turned from, but her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk. The details left out of the many other articles written on the web, combined with the girls' discovery of magic showed the Level 0 the blinded truth behind everything, too unbearable for her to believe.

"Uh... Index?" she worriedly called out to the nun. "You should probably consider.."

"It won't be necessary to have Mikoto Misaka here when it starts!" Index loudly interrupts, coming out of the bathroom holding Mikoto's Tokiwadai uniform in her hands. "Only a DNA sample is required for the healing ritual! It doesn't matter if the host is on the polar opposite of the earth, just the sample can help track down their scent and cure all their physical & mental injuries!"

Index places the uniform in the centre of the chabudai, which is surrounded by multiple objects along the edges. Ruiko was amazed and yet spooked of how Index did the setup, but then a white scroll blocked her perspective.

"This is the most important piece for the ritual! It's used to summon the angel that properly activates the healing process! Since I'm the only option for a choir, I insist that you read the sacred words on this scroll to summon her! This ritual will only succeed if you follow the instructions precisely! Read the scroll thirty seconds into my choir!"

Ruiko was uncertain if she should go on with this "ritual" Index plans to pull off. _"Oh god what should I do? If a read this, do I become a magician myself? It won't even matter if I read it or not, Misaka was strong as a bull when she left. Yet again, she's up against some crazed opponents and might not even return."_

She waited for an answer as these thoughts circled in her mind like a heard of zebras running across a savannah terrain. But once the Level 0 remembered Mikoto's last word of advice, she tightened her grip on the scroll and angrily frowned as she thought, _"SCREW IT! I'M READING THE SCROLL! I don't care if I become a higher level esper, a magician, or even die doing this. I need keep Misaka alive!"_

Ruiko sits at the chabudai, opposite to Index who's been waiting for a response. "Okay Index! I'm ready to go."

"Then it's all settled! We begin the healing ritual now!" And starting the ritual these two did.

Index prepared her stance by inclosing her hands together & gently closed her eyes, and then she began to sing at a single cord. These cords were long, but her tone would rise & descend at complete random. This was the most beautiful singing Ruiko has ever heard, but at the same time creepy & mysterious.

_"It sounds so beautiful."_ Index's little performance has definitely changed the Level 0's entire perspective on religious music. _"Oh right, I need to read the scroll."_

This was so enchanting for Ruiko, she almost forgot about the scroll Index told her to read. She unrolls the scroll while Index continued her duty, and she carefully examines the so-called 'sacred words' that were written across it. The paragraph was written in english, but this wasn't in Ruiko's concern; She took an english class a couple months ago before the summer break.

The Level 0 understood every single word that laid on the scroll, and by the time the thirty second mark comes through, she takes a deep breath and begins reading loud enough for her voice to break through the nun's song.

_**Dear Lord, **_

_**We call upon you for this urgent time of peril. Our courageous warrior sealed within the enhancement circle will be sent to an unholy territory in which they not return from. We beg you Great Lord, please send one of the holiest spirits of the afterlife to grant this warrior limited immortality for this one conflict in combat.**_

Once Ruiko concluded the scroll's writing, every light in her dorm just suddenly died out. The nun still continued to sing even though the entire room was engulfed in pure darkness.

_"Is this part of the ritual?"_

Ruiko couldn't see anything within the black abyss, until a blue beam of light illuminated the chabudai, Index & herself. From the looks of it, the light seems to be coming from a sudden hole in the ceiling.

Then something very peculiar happened; Something the Level 0 couldn't understand. A pair of bare feet descended from the hole; followed by the bottom torso, two hands, their arms, an upper torso, and finally the head. A feminine figure was now hovering above the little setup Index arranged.

_"Is this an angel?"_ Ruiko thought. She wore nothing but a toga, and the white bird-like wings were obviously a no brainer. The angel then gave a glare to the Level 0 which gave her quite a spook.

"I-I'm sorry to b-bother you but uh..." Ruiko nervously stuttered as her response to this deceased woman's stare of beauty. "We've summoned you here because m-my friend's gone off to fight a magician and I-I'm wondering if you can help her."

The angel said nothing to her and she started to slowly look downward; She notices the Tokiwdai uniform placed in the centre of the chabudai. The angel relocates her right hand to the uniform and gives it a light tap. Immediately afterwards, she smiles at the powerless Level 0 and rises back up into the hole.

The hole closed upon her exit and the entire dorm's lighting sources changed an instant. That blue mystical glow faded out and all the normal lights suddenly activated automatically, almost if the whole area just recovered from a major blackout. Immediately following the encounter, Ruiko was beginning to have these thoughts dancing around in her head.

_"So it's really my decision what I can become from this. I could either be patient to discover what esper ability I hold, or I can transfer myself to another church and become a magician."_

Thinking about it, Index has also silenced after the short ritual, but giving a look across to her made the Level 0 see the reasoning behind it.

"INDEX!" Ruiko softly shouted from spotting Index falling into another coma. She desperately shook the nuns shoulders, attempting to awaken her, but nothing did the trick.

"Damn! The ritual must've put a ton of pressure on her." Ruiko jumped to an instant solution. "Well at least Misaka will be protected if things get ugly. I just hope she'll understand the truth behind all this."

* * *

**And I'm back! Sorry about the hiatus, college work's been keeping be busy lately.  
**

**So for this chapter, again nothing really developed over time worth changing. Now, writing chapters based around explaining an arc's plot is a pain in the ass for me. Unless I do that with fight sequences, I can feel a lot more confident with the plot buildup. By the way, if you think I should change the story's rating, just let me know in the reviews and I'll do it in a snap.  
**

**In the next chapter, Mikoto braces herself for another brawl against the magic side again. This time, not for Index's protection, but for answers. But will she get them?**

**Until next time, stayed tuned, People.  
**

**~RailgunBandicoot~**


	5. Index IV

**July 25, 9:15 PM, District 9**

_"The 21st District can't be much further from here,"_ Mikoto thought as she approached an intersection. The lights for the crosswalk proclaim that it's not her time to progress, but she wasn't gonna let that interfere with her voyage.

_"Screw it, I'm just gonna hack into the lights!"_

There's hardly anybody around the busiest of school-related districts during this time so this was a huge advantage for the electromaster. She places her hand on the pedestrian crossing signal, but before she could screw with the city's traffic lights, Mikoto hears a rustling noise from a nearby alleyway she passed earlier. Then it occurred to her that maybe the other magician lied to her; Maybe she'd set an ambush at this very spot which she stands upon.

It might've just been a clumsy thug, but she wasn't gonna take any chances. Mikoto turned around and storms into the empty alleyway. A human figure was definitely hiding in this space.

"DON'T THINK YOU WOULD GET AWAY WITH SURPRISING ME HERE!" Mikoto screamed at the black figure. She's no longer afraid of facing the unknown; She was ready to get some answers, until the figure's voice triggered the sentence, "Well sorry, Zapper. I didn't even know you were out here."

Mikoto instantly stopped to retrace the anonymous voice; it sounded very familiar to her. The figure stepped out from the dark shadows and Mikoto soon realized this wasn't the other magician; It was just "him" again. A bar of pink embarrassment grew on her face, but she got furious by seeing this guy again.

"Oh right, you want me to refer you by your actual name," he apologized to the Level 5 from his mistake. "Sorry about that, Misaka."

"Why are you here?"

"Huh?" Touma was now alert that this conversation was far from over, which seemed to make him nervous for some odd reason. "Oh, I just didn't make it to the market while it was still open.

"It's great you're trying to break your little habit, but we still-"

Just then, a repeated beeping from the intersection could be heard from this location; It reminded Mikoto that her true purpose for the night was more important than scoring a victory from this guy.

"I got something more important to do for a new friend of mine. Consider yourself lucky that I'm letting you go just this once." Focused now on her night's duty, Mikoto escapes the treaded alleyway, leaving Touma confused of her odd behavior.

* * *

**9:58 PM, District 21, Nature Park**

It took quite a while, but Mikoto finally made it to the 21st District. She wasn't sure exactly where the other magician is waiting because she didn't give an exact location; The only clue she has is that it's in the 21st District. So Mikoto kept her guard up as she cautiously enters the District's only park.

This specific park has been consciously visited by several people in daylight due to it's tribute to mother nature, but going into this place at night would bring an opposite experience.

The dim lights, the black river reflected from the night sky; it all left an erie trail of mysticism. But Mikoto wasn't afraid of this scenery; All she needs to worry about is leaving this park with some answers.

"There's no one here," she whispers from the sight of the park completely stripped of pedestrians. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a bunch of cards plastered on several trees and the dirt ground behind her; The exact same cards Athena used to set a rune around her complex.

_"Of course! I'm trapped in a rune again,"_ Mikoto thought as the magical odor visits her nostrils again. _"So I guess that means they've found me!"_

As expected, Mikoto heard footsteps from her left ear; They were quiet, but she couldn't ignore them due to the dead silence around her. And out from the separate path blocked by a row of trees emerges a young woman, around the age of a college student, with a cased katana buckled to her belt.

Mikoto never recalled seeing someone wearing a pair of jeans with the left leg torn off, but since it's only her and this "fashion freak" who're in the park, there's no need to jump to conclusions. This young flash of skin is definitely the other magician.

"So you came without her," the young woman overchecks a missed instruction, noticing the absence of a certain nun.

Mikoto could tell from her tone, attitude, & the expression on her face, that this magician's taking things in a serious manner; Much more serious than the direction Athena took when they encountered in combat. But this time the setup's different; Index is stored safely at Ruiko's place, so therefore Mikoto didn't have to worry about her life being on the line, plus it gives an opportunity to squeeze some answers from this chick.

"Why should I? You're only gonna slice Index's head off if I did bring her here." Mikoto defended her disobeyance with only words. "I'm gonna ask you one last time, who the hell are you?"

"Kaori Kanzaki and I know who you are," the young woman reveals her identity. "Athena mentioned you're a Level 5, this city's second-strongest esper,"

_"What!? Athena's still alive!?"_ Mikoto found it difficult to believe that Athena survived that last railgun; From the way the goddess descendant took it, she should of died that day.

"But you're good name would mean nothing if you compare it to what I am." "I'm a saint; An estimated number of 20 are known to exist, but that's all you need to know. So will you hand over Index to me? Or will you reject and force me to reveal my magic name."

Mikoto was relieved that Kaori was giving her an option, but she didn't know exactly what she's planning do with Index & as well as herself, so the Level 5 stays on guard for the worst.

"Listen, Athena blurted something out about Index and it sparked my curiosity. Unless I know what you're gonna do with her, I won't let you take her."

"Then you leave me no choice…" Kaori grips the handle on her katana to withdraw the sword. If Mikoto can't make her talk, then she's forced to fight for the answers. Even though she's ready for the unexpected, Mikoto wasn't really settled with facing this saint. Clearly Kaori was a lot older than her, and she doubts that this chick's traveled through the depths of hell & back from that look on her face.

Mikoto then suddenly found herself being scraped across her body onto the ground. But to her confusion, Kaori hasn't even removed her katana from its case. But she's not the only one to be sliced open. Several trees from the park and even a wind turbine in the distance were also sacrificed when she got struck. Athena could do all this by summoning spears from the Aether realm, Kaori did it instantly without moving a single muscle.

"What... the hell... was that!?" Mikoto questioned the saint as she struggled to a fighting stance.

"With this sword I wield the Seven Flashes," Kaori begins to explain her attack. "Most people who faced me would likely die 7 times over if they're stupid enough to come at a closer range. Unless you follow what I ask, you won't be spared with salvation like ones that fell before you."

Scarred but still standing, Mikoto found it annoying that the saint wouldn't cooperate with her and start a fight when she clearly just wants answers about Index. The takes a quick glance at her battleground, and her confusion behind that last attack was finally resolved. The atmosphere of the park was surrounded by ulrta-thin wires, and Kaori stood in the middle of a small cluster of them in a prepared fighting stance.

"Why are you so stubborn to keep Index's fate a secret from me?!" The electromaster curiously points out, now knowing what to expect. "I'll get answers from you, even if I have to knock them out of you!"

Mikoto sends electric volts from her hand to the soil at her feet. And in between these two points of contact is some black powder merging out of the ground. Once enough of this powder was summoned, it took the form of a katana in her grip.

"Seven Flashes..." Kaori calmly . Mikoto now knows the saint's strategy, but she doesn't know where the wires will strike her. So all she could do, and probably the best thing she can do is swing her weapon around like a maniac to clear her space of upcoming wires.

Mikoto managed to escape that web trap with only a few scratches on her.

"So that's one of your scientific methods, I presume?"

"Since you're not gonna listen to me, I might as well tell you about one of my capabilities," Mikoto begins explaining the sword she created. "Because I can attract the magnetic fields of metal objects, the same goes for all the iron particles within the ground. Since I'm dealing with controlling matter, I can manipulate the sand particles into any form I desire. When I shift them into a sword, I can loosen the structure and use it as a whip; plus it vibrates, acting like a chainsaw."

The electromaster swiftly points her iron-constructed katana at Kaori before reaching one last conclusion. "This is your last chance. You could either explain what's going down with index, or I can give you a new waist piercing."

"It's none of your concern." Those words mean it's all settled; There's no other option but to fight.

Mikoto charges at Kaori with the katana in-hand, then she heard her say "Seven Flashes..." once more; So Mikoto had to transform her blade into a whip and expose the oncoming wires once again. She tries to take a whack at Kaori in the process, but she kept dodging the altered sword at a ridiculous pace; It's almost like the Level 5 wass swatting a tiny fly that won't stand still.

Kaori quickly draws herself forward to counter strike her target, so Mikoto had to pick up her pace. She reluctantly reconstructs her katana from the separated iron sand particles and counter attacks to stop the other blade. The stakes were high with encounter and both girls aren't willing to back down. 90% of the time, the swords collided with one another, but in that little ten percentage, one of the katana wielders would get lucky and score a clear swipe.

A couple clashes with these blades later, Mikoto pushes her back by a kick to the gut as she prepares for an attack of her own. The iron katana disintegrates into a swarm of black dust; The cloud formed a barrier around Kaori, trapping her inside a humongous twister of black sand particles.

Mikoto thought it would be impossible for a victim to escape outside the twister without being shredded to death, but she's been proven wrong; In fact, just constructing an iron barrier around this powerful saint is the worst thing she could possibly do.

Wires from all directions struck clean from the twister onto the unlucky Level 5, leaving behind scars across her unprotected posture. The tables have taken a tremendous turn as Mikoto loses all control of her iron sand and falls to her terribly scratched knees.

The black twister fades into cloudless night sky and Kaori, now free, she stands at the electromaster's agonizing stance with the katana's sharp blade pointing straight for her head.

Mikoto could see that Kaori won't hesitate to kill a girl with her age. She figured if she was gonna die like this, she might as well try to covince the overpowered saint to explain what's happening, one last time.

"I hope you're satisfied with this," she begins her mourning monologue "All I wanted to know is why Index is acting like a soulless machine, but instead you chose to ram me into the ground. But before you kill me, tell me why; Why are you so desperate to snatch Index's memories and banish them into oblivion? Why are you turning against your own flesh & blood?!"

After that speech, there was nothing but pure silence between the two. Kaori remained speechless while Mikoto anxiously waited for a response. But then, Kaori's expression greatly shifted from a blank severe glance to a tearful face filled with complete sorrow. It wasn't long till she fell to her knees like the Level 5.

Mikoto was quite surprised that she caused this young independent woman to break down weeping like a little girl.

_"What did I say?"_ Mikoto thought as her older opponent continued to whimmer on her knees. All she did was question Kaori to why she's classifying what she knows about Index. She didn't realize it would break her down in tears.

In the way this fight got interrupted, Mikoto had time to think of some possible theories. Then it occurred to her that maybe, just maybe Kaori's trying to save Index. Sure they came from the same church, but she still didn't understand what'll happen to Index if her memories remained unharmed for another day.

_"Wait, does this mean that I... I was the true threat this whole time!?"_ This thought has unraveled Mikoto's mind and exaggerated this little war through a different perspective. Could she really be the biggest threat of Index's life instead of these two magicians? But whatever's going on, it's now clear to her what she's destined to do.

Climbing back on her feet, Mikoto figured it's pointless to fight. She would convince this weeping saint that she's willing to help her, as long as she explains what the Level 5 wanted from the dawn this night brought.

"I don't understand what warped plot your church is trying to pull off, but you know Index more than I do. I can tell in your heart that there's a side to you that wants to protect her, and I want to do the same too. So how about we resolve our rivalling conflict and save Index together. So if you're gonna erase her then go ahead. I'm not gonna hold you back anymore."

Kaori rubbed away the tears with her arm to clear her vision, and got a shocking result when it returned. Mikoto Misaka, the girl who's been declared as a threat in this mission held her hand out to her. Even after all the abuse and she gave this girl, the Level 5 has changed her beliefs and is supporting her to help the saint stand up again.

"Why are who helping me?" She questioned the younger girl. "You obviously don't know half of the true story, and you looked at Athena like she's some monster. After all that, why?"

"Because I can tell you've been through a lot more with this than me. Index has my trust and you have the proper instruments to diagnose the amnesia she needs. So, can you trust me to join in? Or are you just gonna sever my arm?"

Being tempered by what happened in past up until the moment Mikoto reached out her hand, Kaori wasn't sure how to react to the kindness she's being received.

_"She understands so little, yet she's desperate to help her_," The older girl helplessly thought. _"Unlike me, Index has put all faith in this girl, while I can't even talk to her without converting it into a nightly chase of despair. Could she be the one to help end this nightmare? If she can, I can't afford to take any more risks and miss this opportunity."_

With no other resorts in plain sight, Kaori happily accepted the Level 5's assistance and linked their hands by a grip.

Just as the the saint was about to rise, her body warned her of an approaching threat; A threat hostile enough to obliterate both her and Mikoto without leaving a trace.

_"Great, why does one have to come now!?"_ To regard that Mikoto would be safe from this enemy, she threw the young girl onto the ground and helped herself up without any support.

"Hey, what the hell was that about!?" Mikoto furiously snapped at Kaori's quick decision.

"Don't move! There's a corrupted angel somewhere in this area!"

"Corrupted angel?" Mikoto didn't understand what the saint was warning her about. First she agreed that Index's memories must be erased, now she's up against an angel?

"Angels rejected from the Afterlife," Kaori briefly begins to explain. "They harvest on human souls in order to survive. While corrupted angels can roam the earth, they can also be summoned by spell to feed upon a specific widow. We can't afford the angel to suck you dry so keep your guard up."

After a forced impact like that, Mikoto surprisingly climbed to her knees and swipe the dirt off her shirt. "Okay, then let the same go for you too."

As she springs back into a stance with electric volts travelling her clutched fist, Mikoto noticed the entire park begun to glow an uncanny blue.

"It found us!" Kaori immediately points out. "Prepare yourself!"

And it didn't even take long for Mikoto to spot it. The corrupted angel glided over where the wind turbine top used to be, and it was soaring straight for the park at a rapid rate.

Mikoto wasn't sure how something this gorgeous could be a cold-blooded killer, but she still remembered her command and launched several electric currents at the new target; Unfortunately for her, the corrupted angel avoided the upcoming onslaught of pure static.

It was only seconds before the speed demon reached her destination; And when its wings hovered over the the two girls, Mikoto suddenly had this weird sensation happening in her mind. It felt sort of felt like the world around her began to slow down, almost if time itself came to a standstill and she's the only one not effected by the sudden halt.

The corrupted angel was just hovering over the two girls when this happened, specifically smiling at the electromaster.

_"I just don't get it,"_ Mikoto thought to herself. _"How could an innocent figure like this be an anonymous murderer?"_

So she took this time to examine the rest of this angel while trying to avoid eye contact. She just couldn't understand it; She didn't seem to have any weapons or show any indication that she's a one who devours souls from innocent pray. But by the time she couldn't resist the winged woman's glare, the answer came very clear and was quite disturbing.

The corrupted angel's face suddenly started to distort itself. The eyes shrunk into white dots and relocated themselves closer to the ears; The thin ruby-red lips shifted into a ripped demonic grin that stretched across its face. And her lecherous long hair bursted into flames, almost if like it's supposed to become an inferno.

As her face seemed to draw closer to the Level 5, the mysticism grew more powerful and mortal. Mikoto had the feeling she's being drawn closer to this demon against her will, but yet she hasn't even lifted much more than a finger from her current position.

She could of fought back. She could of turned high-tail and run far away from here. She could of done anything to protect herself, but she couldn't. All the electromaster's nerves and muscles were moving at a snail's pace due to that one second feeling as long as a minute.

Scarred, frightened, and unable to shift any movement in her body, Mikoto thought to herself, _"Is this how it feels when a soul leaves its body?"_

But whatever this negative feeling is, Mikoto could tell by a mile that her fate is sealed. She tried to protect the life of a mysterious girl, and this was the consequence she never expected. So the Level 5 figured that it's best to kiss it goodbye and fall under the grasp of a certain skeleton in a black cloak.

But then the unexplained occurred. Mikoto's vision was quite fuzzy, but she can tell that the corrupted angel's been counter attacked. This was the last thing she'd seen before being flown on her back and passing out.

"You ignorant little maggot, " Kaori mumbles after kicking the flaming demon into a tree. "SHE'S THE ONLY HOPE WE HAVE LEFT!"

After the saint snapped into a raging tilt, the corrupted angel immediately rose and charged toward the unconscious Level 5. Kaori knew new that this angel's been summoned to specifically assassinate Mikoto, but who summoned it? Asides from that, her new mission is to now protect the Railgun at all costs.

Kaori began to sprint at the charging inferno and delivers another kick to its head, therefore slamming the angel into the same tree a second time. Even after going through the same traumatizing impact twice, the corrupted angel didn't know when to draw the line. But the saint wasn't gonna let this bastard ruin the new game plan.

Kaori ragingly charged toward the collision site and repeatedly stabbed the angel with her katana like slasher movie villain, making sure that this bitch would never again threaten the life of another human spirit.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S THE DAY OF SINS, THE DAWN OF A NEW WORLD WAR, OR EVEN EARTH"S DARKEST HOUR, YOUR KIND WILL NEVER BRING HELL TO THOSE WE TRUST!" Kaori frustratedly lectured her unlucky target of her role in this world.

"NOT EVEN TO ME!"

Blood splattered over its corpse,

"SALVARE000!"

The demon's loud screeches filled the air,

"BE THE SALVATION OF THOSE WHO CANNOT BE SAVED!"

And the corrupted angel was dead before it could even hit the ground.

Instantly after this courageous performance of heroism, Kaori gained back her sanity. She stared down at all the destruction and blood shed in which she left behind since the night's dawn; The body of the heavily wounded angel obliterates into white glitter, only leaving behind the pool of blood that which leaked out from its open wounds.

Kaori dropped her blood-soaked katana in exhaustion, but immediately noticed Mikoto collapsed on the ground. Seeing this sight made the saint quite scared as she ran to her aid.

"Misaka? Misaka?! Please don't go out like this!" Kaori constantly kept shaking the Level 5 in hopes she would regain her consciousness, but she wouldn't awaken. The thought of having the missing piece of the puzzle being ripped to shreds was too painful for her heart to handle.

She lightly dropped the electromaster and fell to her knees again, this time with regret.

The saint took the blame on herself of what she believed to be an unfortunate loss, but her shame was destroyed when she saw a stroke of lavender hair pressed against the younger girl's chest.

"Don't worry, she still has a pulse," the other girl delivers the good news. Athena had stayed hidden from plain sight since Mikoto stepped foot into the park. If one of the two combatants went berserk and resulted to killing the other, she would be there to restore order between them.

"Kanzaki, I'm the one who sparked Misaka's curiosity. You better leave her with me," Athena gives out her new plan. "If she's this desperate to save Index, I'll finally give her what she wants."

* * *

**11:01 PM, District 21**

Nearly an hour has passed since the unfortunate phenomenon occurred. Since then, the girls have vanished from the park. The rune that once sealed the area has been deactivated and life quickly flew into the empty space.

On an almost busy intersection, a white truck strolls past the blockade of migrating people from both sides. It was driven by a man with a giant capital "N" tattooed on his forehead.

He wasn't exactly the kind of person everyone would consider to be handsome. Firstly, he's fallen victim to the people who had lost some of their black hair, but luckily he took advantage of this for his appearance. And lastly he was shorter than the average business man, almost about 1 foot & a half smaller.

From the vehicle he drove, this man had somewhere important to be. He was set right on course until the most unusual of obstacles threw him off.

The tip of a wind turbine has collided straight into a rubbished building that was once a famous nightclub. JUDGEMENT, ANTI-SKILL, and every emergency responder Academy City had to offer was already examining the heinous disaster.

"Now this is unpeculiar," the man whispers to himself in complete astonishment. "This could possibly be the responsibility of a Level 5."

* * *

**And alas, we finally see a Crash character enter the madness! But what the hell's Cortex doing in Academy City? Only time will tell.**

**For original plans, I had a lot to adjust. When Kaori went into tears, I typed of a flashback sequence of a painful memory she had. I decided to move it to the beginning of the next chapter.**

**And when Mikoto offered to help erase Index's memories, the scene was gonna follow in a different direction based off the light novels. Kaori would snap at our favorite Level 5 and give the bloodshed to her. Afterwards, Mikoto would be possessed by the corrupted angel and go berserk (Inspired by the same way Touma did in the original Deep Blood arc). Mikoto would shortly defeat Kaori, and Athena would be there to remove the angel before it could seize total control.**

**The involvement of the corrupted angel maybe just something I threw in to confuse everyone, but it made more sense than this chapter's earlier stages. Also, I'm aware that the angel's description is different in the previous chapter. You don't have to alert me about that. The confusion will be resolved in the next chapter.  
**

**And with what I said back there, Mikoto will soon awaken in territory she's an alien to. Will she ever find her way back to Ruiko's place? What dark secrets are these magicians keeping from her? Will she finally get some answers? And can she save Index before it's too late?  
**

**Until next time, stay tuned, people.**

**~RailgunBandicoot~**


	6. Index V

**July 18, 9:47 PM, District 7, Above Ground Level**

"Index! Wait!"

"NO! Get away from me you traitor!"

No matter how hard Kaori begged, Index kept running further away from her. Plus it really didn't matter how many times she called out to the nun; The distance between the two continuously grew at a rapid rate.

"Please Index! I don't wanna do this, But it's only resort we know!" Kaori desperately begged for the younger girl for the millionth time.

"I DON'T WANNA FORGET WHO I AM!" Every rejection & proclaim of betrayal that Index's voice made pass the urban landscape left deep wounds on the older girl; The type of wounds that aren't physical, but emotional. The more rejections Index traps in the lit air, the more guilty Kaori feels for hunting down her target.

After only minutes of gliding over multiple buildings in a single direction, the saint finds the white road-runner of a nun standing close to a rooftop's edge; She seemed frightened & tired from the little parkour race she started. From the looks of things, the following apartment complex was several stories below; Risking a jump from this great of height will result in death.

Kaori comes to a standstill when she finally makes it over to the same roof. Index immediately noticed the saint's presence due to the heavy breathing she engulfed from this "Cat & Mouse" game. Just by seeing Index cower in fear of her only made these emotional wounds much worse; Kaori almost felt like crying up to this point.

"Why won't you just leave me alone!?"

"Index, listen. I really wanna help you, but I don't wanna hurt you."

"Then why did you chase me around like you are gonna kill me!?"

Those last words definitely did it; So the emotionally-scarred Kaori hugged the younger girl as a final attempt to regain her trust.

"Index... please, I don't wanna lose you. Suffering from memory loss isn't that horrific, you've been through this before. When your mind grows blank and you forget ever having friends, I'll be there for you every time it happens. So if you really wanna continue on with your life, then come back with me. I promise nothing bad will happen to you."

For a brief moment, Index blindly starred at the painful emotions Kaori's face, then dragged her attention to the shorter complex below. And with only seconds of thinking in this situation, the young nun reached to a solution of her future plans.

She frees herself from the saint's grasp and stood upon the edge of the roof; It was surprisingly easy to escape because of the older girl felt weak inside.

"If you people are just gonna wipe everything I know, maybe I should just live here and forget everything that has to do with our church."

"Wait! Don't jump from here!"

But Index has made up her mind. "Goodbye, Kaori Kanzaki."

"INDEX!" Kaori screams in complete anxiety as her comrade plunges to her death. She looks over the edge in horror to see Index laying face-flat on an open balcony of the neighbouring complex.

Kaori suddenly had a deep craving to let out all her pain & agony over the loss of this young girl. The torture got worse from just scanning the scene for a longer period of time; it was too unbearable to look at.

She tried to save this girl's life without using violence, but she failed.

"If Index wore anything else, she would reduced to a bloody splatter. Fortunately, her walking church broke her fall on impact," the voice of a cheerful young girl described the scenario. Kaori turned to her left and Athena was suddenly standing beside her. "Index isn't dead, she just fell unconscious from her drop."

Kaori felt relieved that Index was still alive, but she still felt emotionally scarred from this night's little incident. Her gorgeous purple eyes filled up with tears, she chains her arms around Athena to form a hug, and she lets out loud sobs of misfortune as those built-up tears crawled down her cheeks; This is what it's like when a powerful warrior reaches the peak of protecting their friends & family.

Then suddenly the city's electric oasis down below just died, but Kaori was trapped in her own personal waterslide to even notice.

_"Huh!? What happened?"_ Athena thought as she rubbed the cracked saint's scalp for her comfort. At first she was a little confused about the unexpected blackout, but then she remembered researching a certain Level 5 somewhere before.

_"It must be Tokiwadai's Railgun. Only a Level 5 can shut down the whole city with that capability."_

* * *

**July 28, 10:25 PM, District 7, Unknown Girls' Dormitory**

A small migraine was felt when Mikoto regained the consciousness she needed. She opens her eyes to see a ceiling constructed by wooden planks.

Now that she thought about it, she also felt like she's wrapped in something, something soft.

"Huh? I'm alive?" Mikoto rised from a bed to feel her face, and the coat of a blanket fell down to her waist. Once she got over the fact that she survived the angel's attack the other night, the Level 5 pulled away the covers and scans where she is from her feet.

She was in a middle-class dorm room, but she didn't understand one detail.

"How did I get here?"

"It's simple, I brought you here to rest," a familiar voice instantly answers the electromaster's confusion. Mikoto looked off to her left and sees Athena sitting at a computer desk. She wasn't wearing her school uniform, instead she wore a red harrington jacket combined with a black shirt and skirt.

"Welcome to my dorm, Misaka." Mikoto just couldn't believe how polite Athena is being. Last time they've met, she fired a railgun at her against all odds. Now she's acting like that battle never happened.

"At first I was doing Index good by keeping her safe with me," Mikoto confesses her misunderstanding. "But after seeing Kanzaki's sorrow, it just convinced me that I'm not seeing the full story here. Now there's a lot I want to know. Why are you so desperate to erase Index's memories?"

"Well I'm grateful you decided to change your ways on the whole situation," Athena offers her appreciation. "I apologize if I gave you any trouble. I just didn't want you to get involved in this. Now that I see you asking me to be our assistance, I guess you deserve to know the truth."

"Okay, lets start with what you mentioned before I flailed you with my railgun."

"That would actually answer everything you need to know," Athena gives out an interesting fact. "What I meant to say at that time is that if Index's memories aren't erased soon, she will eventually die."

"What?! How does that make sense?!" Mikoto was surprised by the words which came from Athena's voice. She knew there's a purpose behind the hunt, but she never expected something like this.

"Well according to Kanzaki, just reading a single grimoire is enough to poison any reader and kill them instantly. That's not the case with Index, She's got the gift to memorize a large amount of forbidden magical texts in her mind, but she can only go so far. So Index sacrifices 70% of her brain for her to do so, therefore depending on the other 30% for everything else."

"Wait, I now understand how her brain's laid out, but that doesn't really explain anything."

"I was gonna jump into that. The Archbishop of our church casted a spell somewhere Index's mouth, blinded to the trained eye. That's the reason why her brain is like this. Therefore, the other memories Index has stored over the year will soon be her poison; It's like when a computer crashes and all the data becomes corrupted. So every year, the Archbishop selects someone Index bonded with dearly, and makes sure her memories from that cycle are obliterated from her collar."

Mikoto was astonished with the amount of information she just learned. She figured that a life of losing your memories every year because of a spell would be like an endless reliving of hell with no end.

"Having a life like that must really suck for her," the Level 5 shows her understanding. "But that tone she's got; What's with her behavior since our last battle?"

"That would be John's Pen being activated," "It's a final process Index goes through caused by our Archbishop's spell. The reason you saw me impale her the other day is because it just activated. While in this state, Index will do anything to protect herself from the memory loss she needs. I can estimate that she might be responsible for summoning the corrupted angel."

"Huh?! Index saw me as a saint when I left. Why would she do something like that?!"

"I bet she would realize that you'll soon know the truth, so she used one of her grimoires to stop you. Usually it requires two people to summon a corrupted angel. I think that maybe Index fooled your friend into thinking she's doing something to help you, but really she's being lied to. So do you understand of what's really going on?"

"Yeah, I've got everything down," Mikoto replies to the young magician.

Athena rose from the desk and progressed to the bed which the Level 5 slept on. She then crawled under the bed like some bawdy rat in search of something, but Mikoto wasn't sure what she's doing down there.

"Hey Athena, looking for something?" Mikoto asks as she climbed out of bed to check on the goddess descendant.

"Yep, I left something under here since I brought you in."

"So how many days are left before it's too late?"

"Unfortunately this is the last day, so we have to erase her memories today."

It didn't take long before Athena withdrawed from under the bed; She now held a steel object in her hand and passed it to Mikoto, letting her examine its characteristics.

"A crucifix?"

"That's the instrument required to wipe away Index's memories," Athena gave her an instant answer. She then turned to her closet door to fetch Mikoto a fresh new set of clothes.

"These might feel a little loose, but we can't risk breaking your reputation at Tokiwadai."

She hands Mikoto a spare t-shirt & jeans for her to replace her wrecked outfit, but the Level 5 wouldn't accept them. Mikoto was no longer staring at the steel cross in her hand, it looked like she's completely zoned out.

"Misaka? Is everything alright?"

"What you told about Index's condition... It gave me an idea," Mikoto offers an alternative possibility. "You said that your Archbishop inserted a collar spell in Index's mouth. Did any of your church's members considered her to pulverize the spell?"

"That would be impossible," Athena explains the downside to her plan. "Our Archbishop wanted to take hold of someone with a large avast of magical knowledge for her division."

"Well I was thinking that maybe I could send a shockwave signal through Index's body and find the collar. Then I could do the exact same process of her memory wipe, but this time getting rid of half her grimoires with them. She won't be able to remember the lost magical texts, but she'll gain space in her head for more memories."

"Misaka, that actually sounds quite impressive!" For the first time during this rough week, Athena was actually astonished of how Mikoto came up with a scientific theory for something this supernatural. "I'm surprised that nobody else thought of doing that."

"Well, when you get to know the atmosphere of Academy City, you can think more logically," Mikoto overrates a true statement with a smile. Noticing the fresh set of clothes in Athena's hands reminded the electromaster that this isn't the time to pull up a conversation.

"I guess I better get changed now."

"And that you should," the goddess descendant agrees as she provides Mikoto her own personal wear. The Level 5 closed the bathroom door behind her as she began to make the quick transformation, leaving Athena to wait on the other side.

"Hey Athena. Where's Kanzaki by the way?"

"We kept switching guard duty outside while you've been knocked out." Athena explains the saint's whereabouts. "You know, Kanzaki seems to be a badass on the battlefield, but she's actually quite shy at our church."

Unexpectedly, the dorm room's only entry door flew open and slams into the opposing wall; And Kaori, furious like a rudely awaked dragon stood embarrassed in the entryway.

"Come on now, Kanzaki. Don't give me that glare," Athena convinced the saint that everything's alright. "You & Misaka hardly know each other, so I figured-"

A sudden burning sensation on her cheek stopped Athena from making a point; Kaori had just slapped the goddess descendant in embarrassment to make her stop. Athena faced many brutal submissions in the past, but that saint's slap didn't even top one of them.

* * *

**11:14 PM, District 7, A Certain Neighborhood of Student Dorms**

"I still can't believe you told her that!" Kaori rephrased her other personality's exposure to Athena.

She didn't even make a scene out of it because there's nobody around to notice. It was only Mikoto Misaka, Athena Promachos, & Kaori Kanzaki who were walking along the lit sidewalks this late at night.

"You should really brighten up your spirit sometimes, Kanzaki," Athena tried to calm down Kaori for the second time. "Back in the darkest of wars, troops from the same designated country had the time to develop new friendships and treasured memories when off the battleground."

"She has a point there," Mikoto suddenly budded in between the pointless discussion.

"Why are you dragging yourself into this?! You have to remember we're out to spring a new experiment on Index!" the saint blabs out to the Level 5. "If this plan of yours actually works, I'll have to find a damn good way to pay you back."

"Well you don't have go out of the way to do that. At first I thought you were nothing more than a notorious warrior, then suddenly this sensitive side of you brought me to your unexpected aspects. Friendship isn't just something you can toss out the window. It's a badge. A badge permanently stitched into your blood. I wouldn't even care if my immense electrical powers were never inside me. To me, friendship is an unbreakable fuel, and I'm now more than happy to pass it to you & Athena."

Mikoto was smiling at her in a sense of respect, and Kaori, who'd seen a warped past in her childhood, felt balanced when glimpsing upon the Level 5's kind expression. It was the kind of feeling when all the worries she's collected have all crumbled under the same roof. And for that, the saint accepted Mikoto Misaka's friendship and forms an almost weak smile across her face.

"Beautiful, Misaka. You've definitely got the nerve for an acting career," Athena the happy silence between the two different girls.

"You think so? I never really thought about it that way."

Only after a few minutes of developing a fine friendship with the two magicians, the fun times die when Mikoto guided them to a three-story complex; The same complex in which Ruiko Saten is keeping Index held up in her residence.

During the walk, Athena & Kaori showed the scientific girl how exactly to use the crucifix she kept a hold of. It was now time to put an end to Index's suffering once and for all.

"You two probably shouldn't come in with me. Index might turn hightail if she sees you," Mikoto leaves in a good point. "I was able to handle the magical spells from both of you, so I'm able to overcome what Index throws at me. But if things begin to sound ugly, that would be a good time to merge from the shadows."

The three found the door to where it'll all go down. Mikoto proceeds to enter the dorm, only to have Kaori grab her wrist before she cranked the knob.

"Misaka, before you wipe Index's mind clean, there's something you need to know about the cross in your hand," She issues the electromaster with a quick reminder. "If you see feathers after you use it on her, don't make contact with any of them; Just get out.

"Hm?"

"The cross is used to summon the Feathers of Light. Just a light tap from one feather on the skin can erase a month worth of memory."

"Oh, so that's how Index forgets her past."

"But you must remember that the Feathers of Light can erase memories from you or anybody else in that radius, so you better get out of there as soon as you trigger them."

And with the new advice in mind, Mikoto Misaka finally enters the dorm room.

* * *

**Saten's Residence**

All is silent. Not a single sound bounced across the room.

Mikoto could see that the only known light source was a rune of lit candles in the bedroom area. And in the centre of the candle rune laid Index, the librarian of 103,000 magical texts, lying in the uncomfortable pressure of the carpeted floor on her back.

Through Mikoto's perspective, it looked like she was sleeping. But in a bizarre sense, she couldn't see Ruiko Saten in plain sight.

She then heard the sound of weak shivering after realizing the other girl's absence; It wasn't Index composing the depressing noise. Mikoto took a quick peek in the kitchen to see her friend huddled in fear behind the counter, this which explains the shiver sound.

"Saten," Mikoto gets her friend attention. "I know why these these magicians are going after Index's memories,"

"Well I hope they told you the truth because Index is really starting to creep me out," a paranoid Ruiko hopes the insanity would soon end. "At first she got me involved in some crazy ritual, afterwards she collapsed on the floor, now she's mumbling all this domestic shit in her sleep and made these candles appear! I don't think I can take much more of this!"

"Saten, relax." Mikoto tries all her effort to calm down the defenceless Level 0. "You should get out of here. I'm about to try something crazy and I think it's best you wait outside. You did a great job keeping Index here this long, but now it's time to let me handle things from here."

"Uh, okay." Acknowledged now that Mikoto's concerned for her safety, Ruiko Saten knew the Level 5 was right. So she hurried outside to let her drop the conclusion to Index's mental suffering.

_"So Index did summon that corrupted angel,"_ Mikoto horribly believed Athena's prediction was actually true. _"But which side of her tried to kill me though? The normal Index or her John's Pen mode?"_

The question of whoever did cast the spell didn't matter anymore; What matters now is to have Index forget this small encounter between science and magic, the memories built up over the past year, her bondage with Kaori Kanzaki, and falling onto a balcony which followed with her greeting with Mikoto Misaka.

Mikoto crouches on one knee to where Index laid. After a three day bypass, the two were reunited for the final time.

Mikoto places her hand on Index's mouth and sends a low frequency signal from the head. She didn't know where the collar spell was casted in the young girl's body; The only clue she can follow is that it's located somewhere near the mouth.

A couple minutes later, she managed to pick up the collar spell's location through the shockwaves; in between the two clavicles, a play on words Mikoto could now understand behind the spell's name.

_**"What are you doing?!"**_

Index awakened from her second slumber. Mikoto could tell her John's Pen mode has gotten much worse by a longshot. Pentagrams took form in her eyes, the tone of her voice grew more robotic, and Mikoto picked up a signal of pure evil deep inside her.

_**"You promised you'd protect me from them! So why do you hold the weapon they used against me?!"**_

Mikoto Misaka's heart started pounding, her nerves started shaking, and she suddenly felt the wetness of sweat running down her forehead. The pressure was on now that Index knew the electromaster's plans.

How will she put it out to Index that she mustn't avoid this process? How will Index react when she hears the truth? Mikoto didn't care about worrying anymore. Her nervousness transformed into a stray face. She was gonna tell Index what she needs to know before completing her deed.

"Index, I feel terribly guilty that it's have to be this way, but it's for your own good. I've confronted Athena & Kanzaki single-handedly and I've learned from them. I know why they're after you and trust me, they don't wanna drag you to total hell. My point being is that you can't run away from your fears forever; You'll eventually have to face them dead-centre. I'm sorry I have to do this, but I rather see you begin a fresh start than watch you die. So just close eyes and let me achieve what needs to be done."

All grew silent again. Index started to rise in an unusual manner, and Mikoto instantly saw why. It appeared that Index was now supported by red glowing tree-like roots which leaked out of her.

_**"Liar..."**_

_**"Liar!"**_

_**"LIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"**_

With every cry Index lets out, the roots straighten out, darting to every square inch of the bedroom like a laser security system.

Mikoto was shift; She breezed through strange roots like the current on a cold autumn day. She clearly didn't know what going on with Index. But whatever the hell this is, the Level 5's convinced it's highly relatable to her John's Pen Mode.

"Ack!"

Suddenly, Mikoto Misaka somehow remained immobile in mid air. Meanwhile a horrible pain migration took form in her abdomen.

_"Damnit! What just happened?!"_

No matter how she imagined it, Tokiwadai's Railgun couldn't budge from the unexplained scenario. That's when she learned that looking down to the agony is the best solution for explanations.

_"Oh... GOD IT HURTS!"_

Mikoto has miscalculated her effort! One root managed to go through her abdomen like butter, impaling her above the ground in the most gruesome pain she can imagine.

* * *

**Several Seconds Ago, Outside Saten's Residence**

"No way! That's what happens when an esper uses magic?!" Ruiko recaps the conversation she started with Athena after she escaped.

"Indeed."

"So wait. Why didn't none of that happen to me when I did that spell?" Ruiko questions the magician for curiosity's sake.

"It's obviously because you're still a Level 0," Athena provides the correct answer. "If you were capable of just performing a Level 1 ability, then would of died in a matter of seconds."

With new shocking knowledge in mind, Ruiko thought up what could of been if she possessed the brute strength of an esper ability.

"Athena! We have to interfere now!" Kaori breaks up the brief conversation. "Index is pulling all odds to defend herself!"

Athena knew in an instant the saint was right. An obvious notice was the extraordinary illumination of red light from under the door to Ruiko's place.

"It's probably best you keep your distance from here," Athena warns the Level 0 of the following dangers approaching. And as she & Kaori rush into the hellish inferno that awaits them, they failed to notice Ruiko hasn't moved a single inch, still wondering about the twisted aspects of magic.

The two magicians enter the unsympathetic apartment. Both of them stopped once they spotted the city's second strongest in parol.

Blood flowed from the wound and stained the floored carpet, but the cross still remained in her left hand. Index noticed the two magicians watching in horror of what she's doing to Mikoto. So she kept them occupied by sending a cluster of roots to trap them. Fortunately, Kaori & Athena were able to move around in the thick web without leaving a scratch.

Mikoto was in a state of panic & explicit agony; All she can think of now is trying to revove the impaling root with her right hand.

"GYAAAAAHHHH!"

_"GOD DAMN, THAT HURTS!"_

That idea only made things worse as the root burned the palm of her free hand.

_**"You're all the same!"**_ Index screams. _**"ALL OF YOU ARE THE SAME! ALL OF YOU ARE OUT TO KILL ME! I CAN'T TRUST ANYBODY!"**_

"Index... that's not true!" Mikoto convinces Index to stop this. Even with a magical root penetrating her abdomen, the Level 5 still found the courage to speak out to the corrupted nun. "Nobody from your church... is your enemy! They're all... pitching in to help keep you alive! So the only enemies... you have... are your own capabilities!"

_**"THOSE ARE ALL LIES, YOU TRAITOR!"**_

The root pinning the electromater began to vibrate violently. In an instant, the root broke free from the wall and quickly warped like a whip.

"Seven Flashes!"

Kaori couldn't stand to see an innocent young teen being tortured against her will, especially if it's a new friend of hers. She uses her Seven Flashes spell in hopes of freeing Mikoto from Index's defence transformation, but she was too late.

The force given from the warp freed Mikoto from the impaling root, but she flew off so fast, she went through the closed door and shattered it to pieces on impact.

"MISAKA!"

The steel wires melt as they obliterated the longest of Index's roots, also stunning the nun herself. Kaori was now worried of two concerns. fulfilling her purpose of wiping away Index's current memories, and getting Mikoto the proper medical treatment she needs for her abuse.

"Kanzaki..." The saint pulled her attention to Athena; The girl with the happy & joyful personality now had the serious side to her awakened in this time. "I'm sorry, but it's probably too late for both of them. From how Misaka destroyed the door, it would be impossible for the cross to survive; plus how the way Index penetrated her ribcage, She'll only live a couple more minutes. We'll have to assume that Misaka is already dead."

"Don't say that!" Just the thought of Athena's prediction made Kaori feel uneasy in her stomach. Could Mikoto Misaka, Academy City's second most powerful esper really reach her demise. "Is there at least something we can do to save both of them?!"

Athena shook her head in disagreement. "I know this might be difficult for you, plus as it goes against our primary objective. But there's no options left but to kill Index."

"Wh... w.. what?!" Kaori didn't understand why Athena came up with that solution. After all, she couldn't betray Index like this; she's the only true friend Kaori had a connection with since the saint joined the Anglican Church. How could she put Index out of her misery after their shared laughter from the past years?

"I won't do it."

"Hm?"

"You heard me! I'm not gonna kill her!" the young saint repeats her word. "If you think killing Index is the only result to resolve our objective, than leave me out of it!"

"Well if you're not gonna work with me, you should at least get out of my way." As Athena conflicted her statement, the ceiling leaked a black fog above her; And from the fog she grasps the summoned weapon; a pitchfork.

As this happens, Index regains her focus as short roots grew from her again.

"This is your last chance, Kanzaki. Will you fight for flee?" Kaori Kanzaki has claimed her word and she was gonna keep her word. She left the tight battlefield to stand by Mikoto's side in her final minutes.

It was now just Athena Promachos against Index possessed under the energy of John's Pen defence. The goddess descendant makes the first move by a swift charge.

_**"GO TO HELL, TRAITOR!"**_

Index's words didn't strike an impact on Athena unlike Kaori's reaction. The nun unleashes another barrage of roots from her cursed spirit, and Athena was able to withstand the fight. She stabs her way through the oncoming root storm with her pitchfork, with several collisions from a few roots.

The brief garden work wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. Index's mouth opens and a tiny fireball popped from nowhere near her lips. With only a couple seconds passed, the fireball expanded unfairly, and Athena knew exactly the devastation this spell leaves behind. It was second to none and the young goddess descendant only had a few seconds to plan out a winning strategy.

Controlled under Index's grasp, the fireball explodes, immediately leading into an endless trail of flames from a magical text dudded as "Dragon's Breath."

Athena didn't move; She didn't run away. She held her hand out as the unholy inferno approached her. From the black smoke that appeared underneath her, Athena grabbed hold of a bronze shield to protect herself.

It worked! The heat of the firewall bounced off the shield like a stone lying in a river stream. Looks like Athena's quick thinking did her good once again; But under the strength of a girl possessed by her own inner demon, Athena's victory was short lived when she made a shocking look to her shield.

_"What?! Is she actually cracking my shield with Dragon's Breath?!"_

Her mere thought were an actual reality! The pressure of the flames caused by Index's "Dragon's Breath" actually started to fissure the bronze shield from the unexplained cracks. Even Academy City's greatest scientists couldn't understand any possible theory to that demonstration, but in the world of magic, anything goes.

_"Damn! Looks like I to kick things up a notch!"_

Athena then set black smoke clouds all over the walls to finish Index with spears from every direction. That's when she realized that karma can crack your damn skull open rather than punch you in the face.

The spears come out and Index activates yet another spell. This spell particularly protects the caster in the form of a blue aura around the body; Any projectiles that are fired at the caster would just be reflected off by the aura. So Athena's spears just bounced off Index and pinned themselves to the walls.

A section of the parking lot was stained in blood. And Mikoto Misaka, Academy City's strongest electromaster was on the struggle of staying alive. Covering up the trauma didn't do any good since she's been stabbed right through her abdomen.

Ruiko Saten & Kaori Kanzaki, two different personas who she didn't get to know for long were the unfortunate ones to witness her resisting death's unavoidable stare. The two were scarred by this, both of them teared up by just watching their saviour die in front of them. Rushing Mikoto to the nearest hospital was no longer an option; And from how this icon's blood filled the area around her, she would have to give in soon.

Kaori knew it would be difficult for someone like Ruiko to experience someone dying for the first time; So she comforted her in this time of sorrow.

"M... Misaka? Are you still with us?" Ruiko tries to speak as tears run down her face.

"Saten… I'm… gonna be… the one… who… GYAH!" Mikoto struggles to move in the pain she's in, but it kept coming back to her.

Mikoto couldn't believe that this was it. Was she really gonna die right here, right now? Since there's no other possible theory, then yes. And to think this happened all because she saw Index on her balcony. If she let Athena to explains things back then or declined to help protect Index, then this wouldn't have happened in the first place.

_"I won't allow you to see your demise."_

Out of nowhere, the voice of a calm old man spoke out to her. Mikoto was now oddly confused because she didn't recall seeing any elders running around this late.

"Who is this?" She questions the voice in her suffering.

_"Just tighten your grip on the cross,"_ the voice offers instruction while avoiding the question. _"It can be used in an alternative matter, and also resist your irony."_

Nothing made sense now. Who's the old man speaking to Mikoto? Is this old man really a hallucination? If not, how can she trust him? But her desire to see Index cured was so obstinate, she didn't have a choice.

So she squeezed the crucifix, following the exact order given out by this strange anonymous elder. All of a sudden, the Level 5 didn't feel the extreme agony anymore; It was like the crucifix itself acted as an antidote or an open surgery. But despite her surprising recovery, Mikoto's entire body felt numb.

There's no other thoughts wandering in Mikoto's mind. All she wants to now is close this chapter; Let Index live for a new beginning, this time even longer if she pulls off her plan 100% perfectly; But her body still couldn't function. So now the only solution Mikoto can think up is to electrocute her own muscular system.

Kaori & Ruiko were stunned of what they've just witnessed. The colossal stab in Mikoto's stomach has unknowingly healed rapidly. And the crucifix she held in her hands somehow evolved into the form of a sword.

From the tips of her fingers to the core of her biceps, Mikoto concentrates several thousands electrical volts into every square inch of her body. She's gonna have to convert the energy equivalent to power a few hundred mansions to move by force; but there's something else supporting her. Mikoto could sense an incredible source of an unknown energy emitting from the sword as she rose.

Mikoto Misaka stands after all the abuse she inhaled. She realized that the cross she once held is now a fierce sword.

The recovered Level 5 soon felt a weird sensation on her back, almost like she grew something out. She turns her head and was stunned to see that she now had these glorious angelic wings spawned out her back. Their feathers glowed a guileful white like the snow she used to frolic in as a little kid. But when you consume a great power this anonymous, there must be connected consequences.

In the flash of a second, Mikoto noticed that Ruiko & Kaori were just as surprised as she was, but they've seen blood drip down her mouth & eye sockets in which she failed to notice.

All this power, Mikoto felt immortal to anything that'll come tout her. But now simple tasks such as listening to the sounds of society have become impaired. Even though she can't use one of her senses, Mikoto was still able to diagnose facial expressions; And from telling how Ruiko was scared through the reaction of a blocked off warning, the Level 5 had the sense that her current state isn't what it seems; Then suddenly came to her.

_"Are these the feathers of light Kanzaki was talking about?"_ Mikoto thought as blood droplets ran down her face. _"They're all pinned into these wings, but how come I still remember these past thoughts? Wait, I got it! Maybe the static running through my inner body is reflecting off the effects of the feathers!"_

Mikoto has made her speculation of what's going on, but Ruiko might have another theory which proves hers is false. Until this strange phenomenon is explained, the electromaster knew exactly what to say to Ruiko & Kaori.

"Saten, Kanzaki. Right now I can't hear a damn thing," Mikoto offers one last speech she can't even hear. "All I know now is that the Feathers of Light are permanently stripped to my back. I know this could erase my mind blank or even kill me, but I don't give a shit what'll happen to me! What matters now is that Index seizes the new beginning she deserves!"

Afterwords, the young Level 5 focal points to the red glow of Ruiko's apartment, now even focusing on the place's host and saint. Mikoto overlooked her environment and she got an idea, but it's hardly anything she'd ever tried before.

Tokiwadai's strongest student was gonna fire a railgun with an actual weapon for the first time!

Since the cross sword was constructed out of metal substances, it basically a no-brainer. And if her calculations are correct, her railgun will penetrate Index's collar and she'll lose all memory of the last 3 years & half of her grimoires.

Mikoto flings the sword upwards in a 90 degree angle at a persist motion; This way she can manipulate it by the handle instead of getting struck by the sharp blade. Her calculations were going according to plan, when suddenly, the strange new power Mikoto has obtained began to turn against her.

The energy leaked from the cross made the Level 5 feel a bit unstable on her feet. In fact, she felt like she was gonna pass out. It will be a cold day in hell before she quits resisting her own body's self-destruction; it's strictly impossible for her to back down now.

With the sword slowly coming back to earth, Mikoto attempted something else which was also new for her. With her legs half asleep and the blood still dripping, she senses all the metal materials deep within the outer wall of the hellish apartment. Mikoto generates all the electricity she can, actual lighting began to strike her again, and Kaori snaps out of her shock gaze to pull Ruiko to safer grounds.

Just as the entire city is sacrificed to another blackout, Mikoto sends several thousand volts to the wall and rips it apart like writing paper.

Here, Athena was still trapped under the inferno of Index's "Dragon's Breath." And with the pressure her shield is through, it won't be long before it shatters. Then just from the corner of her eye, she lost all concentration on her battle from what she witnessed.

The girl's face was bleeding, she could barely stand on her own feet, forbidden wings have spread across her sides, and lightning of extreme magnitudes zapped her with no effect.

Mikoto Misaka has gone into total corruption.

"MOVE!" She forcibly screamed at the goddess descendant for her protection.

Then Athena saw the newly transformed sword descending which gave her the reminder to Mikoto's original plan and that she has to get out the way. Athena releases the cracked shield and escapes the premises to give the Level 5 a clear shot.

Through the tough ashes of what's left in the apartment, Index deactivates her "Dragon's Breath," realizing now that there's a more indestructible opponent left in her way.

_**"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF ALL YOUR UNHOLY BETRAYALS! NOW DIE!"**_

Index charges towards the corrupted electromaster.

Mikoto makes some last-second trajectory calculations.

An even greater onslaught of hazardous roots spawn from the nun's back.

The descending sword reaches Mikoto's height by the handle.

Index screams a determined battle cry.

_"Index, I'm sorry."_

As the sword points towards the raging demon, Mikoto uses her last effort to deliver a blow to the handle's tip. In this time of contact, her wings evaporate with the Feathers of Light being the only trace left behind.

The severe number of gigawatts in Mikoto's fist begin to overpower the molecules inside the cross sword, therefore destroying its new form.

The sword explodes, which followed with a much larger scaled version of the railgun. The highly enormous beam spear travels in the halfway point of the apartment and strikes Index between the collar-bones. In this case, it was a double whammy because the wind current the railgun created gathered the Feathers of Light and blasted Index with what she needs.

The deed has concluded! Mikoto Misaka, the second-most powerful esper in Academy City has saved the life of a single girl.

And as Index fall to the floor of the ravished apartment, Mikoto would soon do the same. All that intense energy from the crucifix sword has done its doing. Mikoto loses her balance & collaped on the hard concrete. After surviving these last 10 days, everything goes black.

* * *

**Well, I guess a long wait could have brilliant results. Just want to let you guys know when this chapter was posted, I'm gonna enter my last week in college. I actually find it funny that I posted this chapter on 420.  
**

**During the time since my last post, I thought of possible solutions of how to do the arc's climax, and I feel proud with what I got out of it. Right now I'm currently writing the Index arc's epilogue and sketching ideas for the next.**

**Until next time, stay tuned, people.**

**~RailgunBandicoot~**


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